DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has appointed hard-line cleric Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signaling Tehran’s defiance as fighting with the United States and Israel intensifies across the Middle East.
The announcement was made Monday after Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts selected the 56-year-old cleric to succeed his father, who ruled the Islamic Republic for 37 years before being killed during the opening phase of the war. The move underscores Iran’s determination to continue the conflict despite sustained U.S. and Israeli bombardment in recent days.
Mojtaba Khamenei, a secretive figure rarely seen in public, has long been viewed as a possible successor and maintains close ties with Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The force has been launching missiles and drones at Israel and several Gulf Arab states since the war began.
The leadership transition comes amid escalating regional tensions that have rattled global markets. Brent crude oil prices surged to nearly $120 per barrel on Monday — roughly 65 percent higher than levels before the conflict began — before easing later in the day as investors reacted to disruptions in the Middle East’s energy infrastructure.
Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have effectively halted tanker traffic through the strategic shipping route, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Regional energy facilities have also come under attack. Authorities reported fires at an oil installation in the United Arab Emirates, while Bahrain’s only refinery appeared to have been struck. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted several drones targeting its Shaybah oil field.
U.S. President Donald Trump sought to calm concerns over supply shortages, writing on Truth Social that there was “not an oil shortage” and predicting prices would soon fall. He also suggested that shipments from Venezuela to the United States could help offset the spike.
Meanwhile, Israel remained under continued missile and drone attacks from Iran. Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly on Monday as projectiles targeted several areas. A missile strike in central Israel killed one man and wounded a woman, marking the first reported death in Israel from such an attack in a week.
Israel said its forces carried out strikes in the Iranian city of Isfahan, targeting Revolutionary Guard command centers, facilities linked to the volunteer Basij force, a rocket engine production site and missile launch positions. Iran did not immediately confirm the attacks.
The Israeli military later announced it had launched what it described as a “wide-scale wave of strikes” targeting sites in Isfahan as well as the Iranian capital, Tehran. Witnesses reported seeing explosions in parts of the city, while additional strikes were also reported in southern Iran.
Turkey said NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile that entered its airspace, marking the second such incident since the war began.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen publicly since the outbreak of the conflict. His wife, Zahra Haddad Adel, was reportedly killed in the same strike that killed his father.
Within Iran, the decision to elevate the younger Khamenei has drawn criticism from some political figures who argue that transferring the supreme leadership within the same family resembles the hereditary monarchy overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However, senior clerics within the Assembly of Experts ultimately voted to maintain continuity during the wartime crisis.
Now holding Iran’s most powerful position, Khamenei assumes control of the country’s armed forces and will oversee critical decisions regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Although key Iranian nuclear facilities were heavily damaged during a 12-day conflict with Israel and U.S. airstrikes earlier in the year, Tehran is believed to still possess highly enriched uranium just short of weapons-grade levels — a capability that analysts say could allow the country to rapidly develop a nuclear weapon if ordered.
Israel has already described the new supreme leader as a potential military target, while Trump dismissed him as “unacceptable” and a “lightweight.”
Despite international pressure, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah both issued statements backing Mojtaba Khamenei’s leadership.
Ali Larijani, a senior Iranian security official, praised the Assembly of Experts for convening despite ongoing airstrikes in Tehran. Speaking to Iranian state television, he said the younger Khamenei had been trained by his father and “can handle this situation.”
The broader regional conflict has expanded to several countries. Iranian strikes were reported in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. In Bahrain, authorities said a residential area was hit, wounding 32 people including several children, while another attack appeared to ignite a fire at the country’s sole oil refinery.
Bahraini officials also accused Iran of damaging a desalination plant, though authorities said water and electricity services remained operational. Such facilities provide essential drinking water to millions across the arid Gulf region, raising concerns about potential humanitarian consequences if the infrastructure is severely damaged.
In the United Arab Emirates, officials reported that two people were injured by shrapnel after missile interceptions over Abu Dhabi. The Emirati Defense Ministry said 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were launched toward the country on Monday alone. Since the war began, the UAE says it has faced 253 missiles and 1,440 drones, resulting in four deaths and 117 injuries.
In Iraq, air defense systems intercepted a drone targeting a U.S. military compound inside Baghdad International Airport. A security official told The Associated Press that no injuries or damage were reported. Iran-backed militias have previously carried out attacks on the base.
The U.S. military also confirmed that an American service member died from injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia on March 1, bringing the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict to seven.
Amid the rising violence, the U.S. State Department ordered nonessential personnel and family members to leave Saudi Arabia. Similar evacuations have been initiated at several American diplomatic missions across the region, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as U.S. consulates in Karachi, Pakistan, and Adana, Turkey.
Israel has also expanded its operations in Lebanon. Smoke was seen rising over Beirut after Israeli airstrikes targeted the city’s southern suburbs. The Israeli military said the strikes focused on facilities associated with al-Qard Al-Hasan, a financial institution it claims supports Hezbollah. Residents of the area were warned to evacuate ahead of the attacks.
According to officials, the war has already killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel. One additional person in Israel died from an asthma attack while heading to a shelter during an air raid.
Israel also reported its first soldier fatalities in the conflict on Sunday, saying two troops were killed in fighting with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon as the war continues to widen across the region.
