By Anietie anii-bassey
Iran’s powerful clerical establishment has named Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, placing a hard-line figure at the helm of the Islamic Republic at a moment when the region is engulfed in a widening war and global energy markets are reeling from the disruption.
The decision by Iran’s Assembly of Experts was announced Monday, elevating the 56-year-old cleric following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on Feb. 28 during the opening days of the conflict that has since spread across much of the Middle East. The elder Khamenei had ruled Iran for more than three decades and was the country’s most powerful political and religious authority.
The appointment places a secretive but influential cleric in charge of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, intelligence services and strategic decision-making at a time when Iran is locked in a military confrontation with both Israel and the United States.
Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been launching waves of missiles and drones at Israeli territory and at American bases and allied facilities across the region since the start of the war.
Energy markets reacted sharply to the escalating crisis. Iran’s effective stranglehold over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman — has dramatically slowed tanker traffic.
The shipping lane normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. With vessels avoiding the route due to security fears, the benchmark Brent crude oil surged close to $120 per barrel Monday, roughly 65% higher than before the conflict began, before easing slightly later in the day.
The spike in prices has raised concerns across global markets about inflation and energy shortages. However, U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to downplay the economic impact, arguing that the increase would be temporary. Writing on social media, Trump said the surge in oil prices was “a very small price to pay” if military operations ultimately eliminate what he described as the Iranian nuclear threat.
Fighting across the region showed no signs of easing. Iran continued launching missile and drone strikes at Israeli territory, and Israeli authorities reported that a man was killed Monday in central Israel when a missile struck the area.
The death brought Israel’s total fatalities from the war to 11. Sirens sounded repeatedly across the country as air defense systems intercepted incoming projectiles, though debris from one interception wounded a woman.
Iran’s attacks have also targeted key energy infrastructure in several Gulf states, raising fears that the conflict could cripple the region’s oil production.
In the United Arab Emirates, a fire erupted at an oil facility in the port city of Fujairah after it was struck during an Iranian assault. Authorities in Bahrain said their country’s only oil refinery appeared to have been hit as well, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky.
Saudi officials reported intercepting multiple drones aimed at the massive Shaybah oil field deep in the desert near the border with the Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates frontier. Riyadh sharply criticized Tehran following the attempted strike, warning that Iran would ultimately be the “biggest loser” if it continued attacking Arab states.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Iranian missiles targeted the capital of Abu Dhabi, injuring two people with shrapnel from intercepted projectiles. Authorities said additional strikes hit areas in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. In Bahrain, officials said a residential district was struck, leaving 32 people wounded, including several children.
Bahrain also accused Iran of damaging a desalination facility. Such plants are critical across the Gulf region, supplying drinking water to millions of residents in arid desert climates. Officials said the country’s electricity and water supplies remained stable despite the damage, but the attack heightened fears of humanitarian risks if essential infrastructure is disrupted.
In response to the refinery damage, Bahrain’s national oil company declared force majeure on its oil shipments, a legal step allowing companies to suspend contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances. State media said domestic fuel supplies would remain sufficient despite the suspension of exports.
Israel has continued conducting strikes deep inside Iranian territory. The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities in the historic city of Isfahan, including command centers belonging to the Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer militia known as the Basij.
Israeli officials said the attacks also struck a rocket engine production facility and several missile launch sites. Iranian authorities did not immediately confirm the strikes.
The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei has drawn attention because it marks the first time leadership of the Islamic Republic has effectively passed from father to son. Critics inside Iran have warned that such a move resembles the dynastic rule of the monarchy that was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
Nevertheless, many senior clerics within the Assembly of Experts appear to believe that continuity of leadership is essential while Iran faces its most serious military confrontation in decades. Khamenei has long maintained close ties with the Revolutionary Guard and has been considered one of the most influential figures behind the scenes of Iranian politics.
Analysts widely view him as even more ideologically rigid than his father. As supreme leader, he will now have final authority over Iran’s armed forces and its strategic programs, including the country’s nuclear activities.
Many of Iran’s major nuclear facilities were heavily damaged when the United States launched airstrikes during a 12-day Israel-Iran war in June. However, international inspectors have said Iran still possesses significant quantities of highly enriched uranium that could potentially be further processed into weapons-grade material.
That possibility has intensified fears among Western governments that the new leader could decide to pursue a nuclear weapon — a step his father long avoided despite maintaining the capability.
Israeli officials have already described Mojtaba Khamenei as a possible military target in the ongoing conflict, while Trump previously called him “unacceptable” as Iran’s next leader and said he hoped the country would eventually be led by someone who would bring “harmony and peace.”
Inside Iran, key power centers quickly rallied behind the new supreme leader. Both the Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah released statements pledging loyalty and support.
Senior Iranian political figure Ali Larijani praised the Assembly of Experts for convening despite continuing airstrikes over Tehran, saying Mojtaba Khamenei had been carefully prepared for leadership. Speaking on Iranian state television, Larijani said the younger Khamenei had been trained closely by his father and was capable of guiding the nation through the crisis.
The conflict has already caused heavy casualties across several countries. Officials say at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran and at least 397 in Lebanon. In Israel, 11 people have died from missile attacks, while one woman suffered a fatal asthma attack while rushing to a shelter during an air raid.
Israel has also expanded its military operations against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Thick smoke rose over southern suburbs of Beirut after Israeli warplanes carried out strikes targeting facilities linked to the Hezbollah-associated financial institution Al‑Qard Al‑Hasan. Israeli authorities say the organization helps finance Hezbollah’s military activities.
Meanwhile, the United States confirmed that another American service member died from injuries sustained in an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, bringing the number of U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict to seven.
Amid the escalating violence, the U.S. State Department ordered nonessential personnel and the families of diplomatic staff to leave Saudi Arabia. Several other American diplomatic missions in the region — including those in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — have also reduced their staffing to essential personnel only.
With the war widening across multiple fronts and attacks now striking energy infrastructure and civilian areas alike, international officials fear the conflict could spiral further, threatening global energy supplies and plunging the Middle East into an even deeper crisis.
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