DUBAI – On Monday, Iran appointed Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the deceased supreme leader, as the new head of the Islamic Republic. The move places a staunch conservative cleric at the helm as tensions escalate across the Middle East, leading to a surge in oil prices. Concurrently, Iran has intensified its attacks on key regional energy sites.
In the face of prolonged hostilities from the United States and Israel, Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected the reclusive 56-year-old cleric, who maintains strong ties with the nation’s Revolutionary Guard, as the new supreme leader. The Revolutionary Guard has been actively launching missile and drone assaults on Israel and Gulf Arab nations since the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, marking the commencement of the conflict.
Iran’s control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz has significantly disrupted tanker traffic, affecting the vital maritime route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which is crucial for transporting a fifth of the world’s oil. On Monday, Brent crude oil prices soared to over $114 per barrel, reflecting a 60% increase since the conflict began.
Amid growing global economic anxiety, U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to assuage concerns by characterizing the rise in oil prices as a transient issue.
“The temporary rise in oil prices, which will quickly decline once the threat from Iran’s nuclear capabilities is neutralized, is a minor cost for ensuring safety and peace for the U.S.A. and the world,” Trump stated on social media.
Since the conflict’s onset, Iran has been targeting Israel and U.S. military bases in the vicinity, while also striking at vital energy and water infrastructure.
On Monday, a fire broke out at an oil facility that was attacked in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Bahrain’s only oil refinery was apparently also hit and Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones attacking its Shaybah oil field.
Israel, meantime, claimed strikes on targets in Iran’s city of Isfahan, saying it had hit command centers for the Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer Basij force there, as well as a rocket engine production facility and missile launch sites. There was no immediate confirmation from Iran.
New Iranian leader seen as even more hard-line than his father
The younger Khamenei, who had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, had long been considered a potential successor — even before the Israeli strike killed his father and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.
There appeared to be some dissension over his selection. Political figures within Iran have criticized the idea of handing over the supreme leader’s title based on heredity and thereby creating a clerical version of the rule of the shah, who was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But top clerics in the Assembly of Experts likely wanted Khamenei to prosecute the war.
Khamenei, who is believed to hold views that are even more hard-line than his late father, now will be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.
While the country’s key nuclear sites are in tatters after the U.S. bombed them during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, there’s still highly enriched uranium in Iran that’s a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose to do what his father never did — build a nuclear bomb.
Israel has already described him as a potential target, while Trump had called him “unacceptable.”
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump had said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a statement expressing support, as did the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, speaking to Iranian state television, praised the Assembly of Experts for “courageously” convening even as airstrikes continued in Tehran. He said the younger Khamenei had been trained by his father and “can handle this situation.”
Regional anger grows as attacks continue on energy infrastructure and oil prices spike
Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following a thwarted drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states.
The Foreign Ministry said Iranian attacks mean “further escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future.”
In addition to targeting energy facilities also in the UAE, Iran on Monday also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where it hit a residential area wounding 32 people, including several children, according to authorities.
Another attack appeared to have started a fire at Bahrain’s only oil refinery, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air, with online video purportedly showing the blaze. Bahrain’s government did not immediately identify the refinery itself as being hit, though it has been a target of repeated Iranian attacks since the war began.
Bahrain has also accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online. Desalination plants supply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travelers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.
On Monday, the island kingdom’s state oil company declared force majeure for its oil shipments, state-run Bahrain News Agency reported, a legal maneuver that releases a company of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances. It insisted that local demand could still be met.
In Iraq, air defenses show down a drone as it attacked a U.S. military compound inside the Baghdad International Airport, a security source told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
There were no reported injuries or damage and it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but Pro-Iranian Iraqi militias have previously targeted the base.
Elsewhere, the U.S. military had said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. soldiers have now been killed.
The U.S. State Department early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia following the escalation in attacks.
Eight other U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials. Israel reported its first soldier deaths Sunday, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting Hezbollah.
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Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut, Lebanon, Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and Qassem Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed reporting.
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