Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who has been appointed as the new head of the Islamic republic, is a discreet figure who offers continuity of his father's hardline leadership.

The 56-year-old had no official post during his father's rule, but was speculated to be acting behind the scenes to pull strings at the heart of power in Iran.

He is regarded as close to conservatives, notably because of his ties with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which swiftly pledged allegiance to the new leader.

DUBAI, March 8 (Reuters) - Iran's Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, state media reported on Sunday.

Mojtaba, a mid-ranking cleric with close ties to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, had long been viewed by elements of Iran's ruling establishment as a potential successor to his father, who was killed after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

What is Israel's best bomb shelter? And when is the best time of day to shower without interruption from a missile alert?

The Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran has provoked waves of retaliatory Iranian fire as well as some tricky questions for Jews and Arabs from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

A new app, which went viral in the country within hours of launching, uses statistical analysis of recent air raid alerts in specific areas to guide users on the optimal time of day to bathe, while limiting the chances of having to run for cover mid-wash.

In central Beirut's Ramada hotel, a few metres away from Lebanon's landmark Pigeon Rocks, no one expected an Israeli strike to disturb the relative safety of this touristy area.

The rock formation, which comprises a natural arch and neighbouring sea stack, decorates the area of Raouche, facing a large banner that reads "beautiful romantic scenery".

They stood witness to Israel's first attack on central Beirut since the start of its new war against Hezbollah.

March 8 (Reuters) - The Iranian army said on Sunday that at least 104 people were killed and 32 were wounded in an attack by the U.S. on an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka's coast last week.

A U.S. submarine sank the frigate Dena in the Indian Ocean about 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka's southern port city of Galle on Wednesday, killing dozens of sailors and dramatically widening Washington's pursuit of the Iranian navy.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Elwely Elwely; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is weighing the option of deploying special forces on the ground to seize Iran’s near-bomb-grade uranium, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing three diplomatic officials briefed on the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru)

By Orhan Qereman

QAMISHLI, Syria March 8 (Reuters) - Kurdish residents of northeast Syria warned Iran's Kurds against aligning with the U.S. to fight the Iranian government, citing their own experience in Syria in recent months as evidence their Iranian counterparts would be "abandoned."

Iranian Kurdish militias based in northern Iraq have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether and how to attack security forces in western Iran, as the United States and Israel pound Iran with air strikes, Reuters has reported.

Iran fired missiles at Israel and Gulf nations early Monday after the Islamic republic named Mojtaba Khamenei its new leader to succeed his late father despite threats by the United States and Israel to target him next.

Nine days after US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war, Iranian clerics picked the country's third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, March 8 (Reuters) - Iran's next leader faces a massive external assault and growing internal anger, and while previous leaders relied on a hardcore of diehard ideologues in the population, it is far from clear how far his successor can do the same.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by U.S. and Israeli strikes a week ago and his hardline son Mojtaba Khamenei is seen as a frontrunner to succeed him.

CAIRO, March 8 (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza City on Sunday, local health officials said, the deadliest incident in Gaza since Israel and the United States launched their war against Iran a week ago.

Medics said the two people were travelling in a car near Al-Azhar University in western Gaza City. Their identities were not immediately clear. Several other people in the area were wounded in the strike, the health officials added.