Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been named as his replacement.
Israel has threatened to target any successor, and President Donald Trump said the new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected calls for a ceasefire, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that Iran needs to “continue fighting for the sake of our people.”
Araghchi declined to say whether Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence support, but he said the Russians are “helping us in many different directions.”
Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East as the conflict enters its second week. In Iran, at least 940 have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, Iranian state media reported, and 11 have died in Israel in retaliatory strikes. Israeli strikes have killed nearly 400 people in Lebanon. And at least seven American troops have died.
Trump told reporters he believes Iran is behind the strike on an elementary school that killed at least 168 people, contradicting preliminary findings from his own administration that a U.S. munition was most likely responsible for the strike, according to sources.
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would not commit Sunday to block any additional funding for the war, saying on “Meet the Press” that Trump has so far failed to justify the war but that “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
More news on the Iran conflict:
- Camouflage and crudités: Trump wages war from Mar-a-Lago’s makeshift “situation room” while parties roar beyond the gold-plated doors.
- Last ally standing: After a year of tariff threats, insults and diplomatic clashes with European allies, Trump is left to wage a war in Iran with only Israel by his side.
- Iranian diaspora: While a free Iran is their shared dream, the mix of joy and anxiety in reactions to the war reflect the complicated emotions of members of the diaspora.
- Price hikes: Oil continued its recent surge, hitting $100 per barrel for the first time since July 2022 as the ripple effects from the U.S. war on Iran continued to hit global markets.
Poll: Trump struggles on key issues as Democrats hold a midterm edge
Majorities of registered voters disapprove of how President Donald Trump has handled the issues that defined the first months of a tumultuous midterm election year as Democrats maintain an advantage in the battle for control of Congress, according to a new national NBC News poll.
Across five issues tested, voters give Trump their lowest marks on the economy, with 62% disapproving of his handling of inflation and the cost of living. He continues to receive stronger marks on border security but scored lower on immigration, on which 54% disapproved of his handling.
As both parties begin to nominate candidates for this year’s midterm elections, Democrats continue to hold an edge: 50% of registered voters say they’d prefer Democrats win control of Congress this fall, compared with 44% who’d prefer Republican control.
When it comes to candidates, Democrats — and especially Republicans — are prioritizing ideological alignment instead of electability. Meanwhile, the nation overall has a negative view of both parties, led by independents.
Politics in brief
- ‘Symbol of democracy’: A plaque was installed at the Capitol honoring law enforcement who protected the building during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
- A play for the MAGA base: Billionaire Rick Jackson is shaking up Georgia’s governor’s race, vastly outspending his GOP primary opponents — including the Trump-endorsed candidate.
- Tribute to a trailblazer: After a president-filled celebration, the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family gathered to grieve the civil rights leader at his organization’s headquarters.
- No to the CEO: A federal judge voided a series of sweeping actions by Kari Lake last year as Voice of America CEO, including job cuts.
Museums looted of priceless artifacts as Sudan counts the cost of a deadly conflict
A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting amid a conflict that has developed into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The war raging between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced at least 13.6 million more, according to figures from United Nations agencies and the World Health Organization, though aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.
Inside the museum’s exhibition halls, display cases stand empty, stripped of their lightweight, high-value contents during a period of occupation by the RSF.
“More than 60% of the museum’s holdings were looted,” said Ghalia Jar Al-Nabi, director of the General Authority for Antiquities and Museums, noting the theft of gold and jewelry belonging to the kings of Napata and Meroe, two ancient kingdoms that inhabited the region. The towering figure of Apademak, a deity of the Meroitic empire, which ruled between 300 B.C. and 350 A.D., was most likely too heavy to move.
The audacious plan to refill the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake has been shriveling up for decades. At its record low about four years ago, the exposed lake bed became a source of toxic dust, with scientists warning of imminent ecological collapse. A Utah official called the lake an “environmental nuclear bomb.”
But a monumental, perhaps impossible, plan to save it has gained significant traction in recent months. The goal: refill the Great Salt Lake in just eight years.
Once a niche cause for environmental advocacy groups, the task has won support from many strange bedfellows, including Republican state lawmakers.
Shot by gang members, these Paralympians are making history
David Chávez and Jonathan Arias grew up in different parts of crime-ridden El Salvador in the 2010s, but they suffered the same brutal fate.
At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down. Chávez was also 14 when he was shot and paralyzed during a robbery by gang members.
El Salvador during that time offered few opportunities for young people, even for those who had everything going for them. For two teens unable to use their legs, the future was especially bleak.
Fast-forward to 2026. El Salvador is competing in the Winter Paralympics for the first time in history, and it’s Chávez, 27, and Arias, 28, who are blazing the trail — on two skis. They have qualified for the Para cross-country skiing event despite hailing from a country that never get snow.
- Highly decorated: Oksana Masters, Team USA’s most decorated Winter Paralympian of all time, secured her 20th medal with gold in the biathlon sitting sprint. Teammate Kendall Gretsch took silver.
Notable quote
I shouldn’t die for something I haven’t done.
Charles “Sonny” Burton, sentenced to death for a felony murder conviction
This fact is not in dispute: Charles “Sonny” Burton, 75, has never killed anyone. But on Thursday, Alabama is set to execute him, a death sentence made possible because of a legal doctrine known as felony murder, which allows prosecutors to treat anyone involved in certain felonies equally responsible for killings that occurs during crimes, even if they did not commit the acts themselves.
In case you missed it
- A device thrown outside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence during dueling protests Saturday was confirmed to be an improvised explosive device, according to police.
- Powerful storms that whipped up tornadoes killed four people in southern Michigan, including a 12-year-old boy, and two people in eastern Oklahoma.
- A Cleveland playground has turned into a memorial for two little girls who were found there stuffed inside suitcases and buried in shallow graves.
