Overview
- Tehran confirmed the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said a temporary leadership council would be formed after the February 28 strikes by the United States and Israel.
- Iran’s missile and drone reprisals killed at least eight people in Israel’s Beit Shemesh, and Britain reported defensive actions including downing drones and detecting two ballistic missiles fired toward Cyprus.
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will not join offensive strikes but will allow use of its bases for specific defensive purposes and will deploy Ukrainian experts to help partners in the Gulf shoot down Iranian drones.
- At least nine people were reported killed during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi as pro‑Iran student groups rallied over the strikes on Iran.
- Ukraine reported 145 combat engagements with Russia in the past day, with the heaviest fighting near Huliaipole and Pokrovsk, while officials in Donetsk said morning strikes on March 2 killed five and injured 13, and Russian authorities reported an overnight drone attack in Novorossiysk and explosions across Crimea.