The first purported message from Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly installed supreme leader of Iran, was read on state TV on Thursday.

The three biggest cable news channels — Fox News, MS Now and CNN — are running well ahead of their season-to-date averages in primetime. Smaller outlets like Newsmax and NewsNation are up too. Year-to-year comparisons are a little more complicated due partly to the timing of President Donald Trump’s last two addresses to Congress.

State media and online propagandists are striking a confident posture, despite heavy losses. Some of the content was generated by artificial intelligence.

President Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's late supreme leader, has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced, as Tehran widened its attacks across the Mideast to strike oil and water facilities crucial to its desert sheikdoms.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed in a written statement that Iran's retaliation throughout the Persian Gulf will continue. The widening conflict has pushed oil back above $100 a barrel, rattling global markets.

The war with Iran showed no signs of ending Sunday as neighboring countries in the Gulf reported new attacks a day after Tehran accused the United States of striking its main oil terminal on Kharg Island from the United Arab Emirates.

CBS reporter Nancy Cordes questioned White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether President Trump was fabricating reasons to justify U.S. attacks on Iran. Leavitt defended Trump’s claims, stating they were based on intelligence and information from top negotiators.

Dubai Abu Dhabi news highlights: The Dubai Media Office said the authorities are currently responding to a fire from a drone-related incident in the vicinity of Dubai International Airport.