While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 9, 2026
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The appointment of Mr Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts locks hardliners firmly in control in Iran.
PHOTO: AFP
Iran names Khamenei’s son as new supreme leader
IIran's clerical leadership chose confrontation over compromise in appointing Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, a move regional officials say is a direct rebuke to US President Donald Trump, who had declared the son "unacceptable".
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli strike at the start of the conflict, now in its second week.
The appointment of Mr Mojtaba as his successor by the Assembly of Experts locks hardliners firmly in control in Tehran - a gamble that could reshape Iran's war with the US and Israel and reverberate far beyond the Middle East.
"Having Mojtaba take over is the same playbook," said Mr Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
US considers idea of special operation to seize Iran’s uranium
PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump is weighing the option of deploying special forces on the ground to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium, as officials grow increasingly concerned the stockpile may have been moved, according to three diplomatic officials briefed on the matter.
The US and Israel struck key nuclear facilities during last June’s 12-day war. Uncertainty over Iran’s highly enriched uranium has intensified because it’s almost nine months since United Nations atomic inspectors last verified its location, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss restricted deliberations.
“They haven’t been able to get to it and at some point, maybe we will,” Mr Trump said late on March 7 during a briefing aboard Air Force One. “We haven’t gone after it, but it’s something we can do later on. We wouldn’t do it now.”
Macron to visit Cyprus as France deploys warships to Mediterranean
PHOTO: EPA
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on March 9, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago.
Mr Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean”, the Elysee said on March 8.
The visit will take place as the war pitting the US and Israel against Iran is in its second week, affecting much of the Middle East.
Israeli strike kills three Palestinians in Gaza City, medics say
PHOTO: REUTERS
An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinians in Gaza City on March 8, said the head of the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Mohamed Abu Selmia. It was the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel and the US launched their war against Iran a week ago.
Medics said the three men were near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza City. Among the dead was paramedic Mohammad Hamduna. The two others were named as Mohammad Abu Shedeq and Ahmed Lafi. The strike hit near crowded tent camps where Gazans were sheltering, and wounded several other people in the area, the medics added.
Such attacks have declined since the start of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, although Israeli forces have killed several Palestinians over the past week.
Indian police arrest alleged killers of Bangladesh student leader
PHOTO: REUTERS
Indian police said on March 8 they had arrested two Bangladeshi nationals accused of murdering a popular student leader in Dhaka, after they allegedly entered India illegally.
Mr Sharif Osman Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in the mass uprising in 2024 that led to the ouster of Bangladesh’s then-premier Sheikh Hasina, was shot by masked assailants in 2025 and later died from his injuries at a Singapore hospital.
Bangladeshi police alleged that the killer had fled to India, a claim rejected at the time by Indian authorities.
