EconoTicker

Donald Trump said Mojtaba Khamenei’s continued absence from public view has fueled doubts over whether he is even alive, adding that he is “hearing” the new Iranian leader may not be alive, while also calling such reports a rumor. Trump said that if Mojtaba is alive, he should do “something very smart” for his country and surrender.

Trump also said Iran’s remaining military leverage is now largely limited to laying naval mines or firing short-range missiles from the coast. He added that once the United States is finished with Iran’s shoreline, Tehran would lose even that capability, signaling that Washington sees Iran’s coastal military infrastructure as a key remaining target.

Source: Reuters; NBC News interview as quoted in Reuters syndicated reporting.

Saudi Arabia said its air defenses intercepted a new wave of drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province, underscoring the growing pressure on Gulf airspace as the regional war expands. Reuters reported that the Saudi defense ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed 10 drones in Riyadh and the east.

Earlier ministry updates, cited by Al Jazeera, said three drones had also been intercepted in other parts of the kingdom before additional waves were reported later, pointing to a sustained pattern of attempted drone attacks.

Source: Saudi Ministry of Defense; Reuters; Al Jazeera.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News that Iran’s ballistic-missile launch capability has fallen by 90% and its drone capability by 95%. She also said the United States has sunk more than 65 Iranian vessels and struck more than 6,000 targets across Iran, presenting the campaign as an effort to “completely eradicate” the threat posed by the Islamic Republic. Reuters has separately reported earlier White House claims that Iranian missile attacks had already dropped sharply and that Washington said it was moving toward broader control of Iranian airspace.

The remarks underline how aggressively the Trump administration is now framing the war: not just as containment, but as a systematic dismantling of Iran’s remaining strike capacity at sea, in the air, and through its missile network.

Source: White House / Karoline Leavitt interview with Fox News; Reuters.

A long-range rocket fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon toward central Israel was intercepted by Israeli air defenses, and no injuries were immediately reported, according to The Times of Israel, citing initial IDF assessments. At the same time, the Israeli military said it had detected another ballistic missile launch from Iran toward southern Israel, in what Israeli reporting described as the fourth Iranian missile attack since midnight. Sirens sounded in southern areas, and the missile was likely intercepted based on initial military evaluations.

The back-to-back alerts highlighted the continued pressure on Israel from both the Lebanese and Iranian fronts, even though the latest reported strikes did not immediately cause casualties.

Source: The Times of Israel / IDF.

Fresh reports of heavy overnight airstrikes on Isfahan emerged early Sunday, with videos on social media appearing to show a low-flying warplane and thick columns of smoke rising from different parts of the city. Most of the reported blast sounds were heard in the northern and southern areas of Isfahan.

What is independently confirmed is that Isfahan has remained under active strike pressure in recent days. Reuters reported on Saturday that at least 15 people were killed in a strike on a factory in Isfahan, while AP separately reported that victims were killed in an industrial area of the city and noted that Israel’s military said it had not targeted that specific area.

Source: Reuters; Associated Press.

Israeli media said five overnight rounds of Iranian missile fire targeted Israel, with no immediate injuries reported during those attacks. The Times of Israel reported that the fifth missile attack since midnight caused no injuries, and its live coverage likewise described the earlier overnight rounds as ending without immediate casualties.

The picture later became less clear as other Israeli reports during Saturday’s broader barrage cycle mentioned light injuries and shrapnel damage in separate incidents. That suggests the “no injuries” line appears to apply to the specific five overnight waves, not necessarily to all missile activity over the full day.

Source: Times of Israel; Jerusalem Post.

A senior figure in Japan’s ruling party said any decision to send Japanese naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz must be handled with extreme caution, even if such a move cannot be fully ruled out legally. Takayuki Kobayashi, policy chief of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, said the bar for deployment is very high under current conditions as the regional conflict continues.

The remarks show that Tokyo is resisting pressure for a rapid military commitment after Donald Trump said countries affected by any disruption in Hormuz could join the United States in sending warships to the area. For Japan, the issue is especially sensitive because of its dependence on Middle Eastern energy and the legal limits on overseas military action.

Source: Reuters; Financial Times.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran appears to want an end to the war, but added that Washington is not ready for a deal yet because the terms are still “not good enough.” In the same remarks, Trump praised the U.S. military’s performance, said developments with Iran are moving very quickly, and signaled that military pressure will continue rather than ease.

Trump also said the United States is working with other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, while urging oil-importing allies to contribute more to protecting the waterway. At the same time, he threatened further strikes on Kharg Island, saying recent U.S. attacks had badly damaged the site, and again raised questions about whether Iran’s new supreme leader is even alive.

Source: Reuters, citing Trump’s NBC News interview.

The Kurdistan Regional Government strongly condemned the drone attack targeting the UAE Consulate General in Erbil, as well as any attacks on the Kurdistan Region’s territory, institutions, consulates, and diplomatic missions. In its statement, the KRG described such assaults as terrorist and destabilizing acts, a clear violation of international law, and a breach of the sovereignty of both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

The statement came after an earlier incident this week in which three drones were downed in Erbil, with debris from one falling near the UAE consulate, according to Reuters. No casualties were reported in that earlier attack.

Source: Kurdistan Regional Government; Reuters.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reported fresh drone interceptions as the regional conflict continued to spread across Gulf airspace. Kuwait’s military said additional drones were intercepted over the country and that the explosions heard were linked to ongoing air-defense operations, while Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down three drones, including threats over the Eastern Province.

The new interceptions underline the growing pressure on Gulf states as they try to shield critical infrastructure and civilian areas from repeated aerial threats. Associated Press reported that, so far, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage linked to these latest interceptions.

Reuters reported that both Washington and Tehran have rejected mediation efforts aimed at launching diplomacy to stop the war that began two weeks ago with a large-scale U.S.-Israeli air assault on Iran. The report, citing three informed sources, said the Trump administration turned down attempts by Middle Eastern allies to open a diplomatic channel.

According to two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters, the Islamic Republic has also ruled out any ceasefire as long as U.S. and Israeli attacks continue. The report added that several countries have been trying to mediate, but both sides remain entrenched for now.

Source: Reuters.

Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said a drone attack on Saturday night damaged part of the radar system at Kuwait International Airport, while emergency procedures were activated and no injuries were reported.

The strike adds to the pressure on Gulf aviation infrastructure as regional conflict spills across borders. Kuwait International Airport had already suspended flights on February 28 after the war triggered major airspace disruption across the region.

Source: Kuwait Civil Aviation Authority; Reuters.