BREAKING:

Israel just bombed the Lebanese National Public University in Beirut.

They murdered the Director of the Faculty of Science, Dr. Hussein Bazzi, and Dr. Murtada Srour.

They are not just killing people — they are erasing knowledge and attacking the future of Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/OoSSow5zJ3

— sarah (@sahouraxo) March 12, 2026

By The Associated Press

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As American and Israeli strikes pound the Islamic Republic and Iran attacks Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure with no sign of an end to the war, oil prices have soared back above $100 a barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon. The U.N. refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced, and authorities in Lebanon say 800,000 have been forced from their homes as Israel’s military destroys buildings linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Here’s the latest:

Israeli strike kills two academics at Lebanese university

The Israeli strike that hit in the vicinity of Lebanon’s only public university killed the director of the faculty of sciences Hussein Bazzi and professor Mortada Srour.

Read More: Israel bombs central Beirut, US airstrikes top 6,000, Iran escalates attacks