Iran and beyond
(Helen Regan – CNN) Political hardliners have swiftly rallied behind Mojtaba Khamenei after he was named Iran’s new supreme leader. Thoughts now turn to how he will steer Iran through one of its biggest crises in its modern history and what his first move will be. The US-Israel war with Iran has sent global oil prices past $100 per barrel, the first time it crossed that mark since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The surge was triggered by concerns the conflict will lead to prolonged restrictions on the flow of oil around the globe. Israel’s attacks on Iran’s energy resources and fuel storage sites have pushed the war into a “new phase,” a senior Iranian official has warned, and threatened retaliatory strikes on energy infrastructure across the region. – What we know on the 10th day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran | CNN
(Stephen Collinson, Kylie Atwood, Tal Shalev – CNN) America’s attitude toward allies leading up to the Iran war was the geopolitical equivalent of a slogan on a jacket once notoriously sported by first lady Melania Trump: “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?”. The Trump administration not only spurned coalitions and failed to seek the diplomatic legitimacy that marked the 1990-91 Gulf War or even the Iraq invasion in 2003; it launched its onslaught, along with Israel, without even telling many of its friends. Take, for instance, the blindsiding during a trip to Dubai of a senior member of Italy’s government, which is closer to Trump’s ideology than most in Europe. “Think about the fundamental lack of coordination that represents: One of the US’ closest allies’ defense minister was in the theater when it kicked off, and had no idea,” said a US official. Nine days later, the war has pulled the world more deeply than ever into the disorienting vortex that has already defined American life in the whiplash era of Donald Trump’s tear-it-down politics. The US’ and Israel’s opening strikes — which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — sent off a regional pandemonium. European and Middle Eastern governments were confronted with a sudden war that wasn’t theirs and that most didn’t want. Officials scrambled to rescue citizens trapped in a widening combat zone. Soaring energy prices battered fragile economies and uproar rocked domestic politics. In the Gulf, US allies faced a drone and missile barrage that shattered the opulent calm of gleaming glass cities springing from the desert and shut down a global aviation crossroads. – Analysis: Trump’s Iran war drags the world into his tear-it-down politics | CNN Politics
(CNN) When millions of Iranians poured into the streets in 1979 to end the rule of the former shah, their revolution seemed to have put an end to the practice of passing power from father to son. Not so. Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been elevated to the position his father held for nearly four decades until his death in US-Israeli air strikes. He now sits atop a system badly weakened after the 88-member Assembly of Experts did what many Iranians had hoped it would never do, turning the Islamic Republic into a dynasty. US President Donald Trump said last week that Khamenei’s appointment as his father’s successor would be “unacceptable” to him. The US-Israel attack that killed his father also took multiple relatives. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law were all killed in the attack, according to state media. Days later, the late supreme leader’s wife – Mojtaba’s mother – also died of her wounds, according to state media. – Who is Mojtaba Khamenei? The son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei takes Iran’s top job | CNN
(BBC) Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, has been chosen as his successor. Unlike his father, the 56-year-old has largely kept a low profile. He has never held government office, nor given public speeches or interviews, and only a limited number of photos and videos of him have ever been published. But for years there have been rumours that he held considerable influence behind the scenes in Iran. US diplomatic cables, which were published by WikiLeaks in the late 2000s, described him as “the power behind the robes” who was widely regarded as a “capable and forceful” figure within the regime, according to AP news agency. – Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader?
(Faisal Islam, Peter Hoskins – BBC) Global oil prices have jumped above $110 (£82.74) a barrel and stock markets have slumped as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country. The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots. Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world. – Iran war: Oil prices jump above $100 for first time in four years
(RFE/RL’s Radio Farda) Iran marked the first hours after the naming of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader by launching missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states, who have begun expressing increasing anger over Tehran’s retaliatory strikes. “Iran fires first wave of missiles under the leadership of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei toward occupied territories,” Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said on Telegram early on March 9. The post carried a photo showing a projectile with the words: “At Your Command, Sayyid Mojtaba.” – Iran Marks Mojtaba Khamenei Selection With Strikes Against Israel, Gulf States
(RFE/RL’s Radio Farda and Vahid Pourostad – RFE/RL) The March 8 election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new leader by Iran’s Assembly of Experts following the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack marks the first time the son of a supreme leader is succeeding his father in the Islamic republic. Mojtaba Khamenei has rarely appeared in public and has never addressed an audience beyond seminary classrooms, yet he is widely seen as a shadowy behind-the-scenes force with influence over those closest to the supreme leader’s office and Iran’s security institutions. But who is Mojtaba Khamenei, and how did his name become one of the most controversial options for his father’s succession? – Mojtaba Khamenei Follows In Father’s Footsteps As Iran’s New Supreme Leader
(RFE/RL) Iran has named hard-liner Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader, likely putting him directly in the sights of the US and Israeli militaries. Iran’s Assembly of Experts, responsible for electing the new ruler, said on March 8 that it had “designated and introduced Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Supreme Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” – Iran Names Khamenei’s Son As New Supreme Leader Despite Trump Warning
(Ray Furlong – RFE/RL) Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition in Israel, says air strikes on Iranian oil fields –which have showered Tehran in black rain — were needed to cut the “lifeline of the regime” in Iran. Speaking to RFE/RL at a downtown location hit on March 8 by falling debris from an intercepted Iranian missile, Lapid also indicated that Israel reserves the right to strike any new supreme leader who takes power following the death last weekend of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “It depends who is the leader,” he said. “This is our way of protecting ourselves from death and destruction. Because, you know, this is what this regime is.” – Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Tells RFE/RL Iran’s Oil ‘Lifeline’ Must Be Cut
(Ben Geman – Axios) Oil prices on Sunday crossed into triple digits for the first time since 2022 — a stark sign of how the Iran war is throttling global supplies and raising consumers’ costs. The psychologically important $100-a-barrel mark is going to increase pain for consumers, many of whom don’t support the war and didn’t have any real warning that it was coming. It’s also a political setback for President Trump, who has relished in touting lower gasoline prices on his watch. The global benchmark Brent crude was trading initially Sunday evening at $101.81, while WTI, the main U.S. metric, was at $101.56. Brent later climbed over $108. U.S. oil prices surged further later in the evening and were near $120 a barrel overnight ahead of the start the week’s trading. – Oil tops $100 a barrel as Iran war escalates
(Barak Ravid, Marc Caputo – Axios) Israel’s strikes on 30 Iranian fuel depots Saturday went far beyond what the U.S. expected when Israel notified it in advance, sparking the first significant disagreement between the allies since the war began eight days ago, according to a U.S. official, Israeli official and a source with knowledge. The U.S. is concerned Israeli strikes on infrastructure that serves ordinary Iranians could backfire strategically, rallying Iranian society to support the regime and driving up oil prices. The Israeli air force’s Saturday strikes created large fires in Tehran, igniting flames visible for miles and blanketing the capital in heavy smoke. – Scoop: Israel’s strikes on Iran fuel depots sparks US backfire concerns
(Josephine Walker – Axios) Mojtaba Khamenei will succeed his father, Ali Khameni, as Iran’s next supreme leader, Iranian state media reported Sunday. The move consolidates hardline control even as U.S. and Israeli strikes pound the country. The regime is at its most vulnerable state since the 1979 revolution, and critics have previously railed against Mojtaba’s rise, citing his limited formal experience, modest theological credentials and the regime’s aversion to dynastic rule. – Who is Mojtaba Khamenei? Iran’s hardline next supreme leader, explained
(Avery Lotz – Axios) The Trump administration’s top energy official argued Sunday that fear — not supply shortages — is driving a historic surge in oil prices. The world is well-supplied with oil, but markets are reacting to real-world disruptions — a strangled Strait of Hormuz, halted production and strikes on fuel storage. The administration is road-testing a political argument to insulate itself from pocketbook pain in a midterm year. The record-breaking surge lifted gasoline 47 cents a gallon in the last week and diesel 83 cents a gallon, per AAA. – Trump administration says fear, not shortages, is driving up oil prices
US
(Emma Tucker, Gloria Pazmino, Chris Boyette – CNN) Tensions between opposing protest groups outside the New York City mayor’s residence boiled over Saturday, when a protester hurled an improvised explosive onto the crosswalk, leaving protesters and police officers scrambling.
The device was capable of causing “serious injury or death,” the NYPD said Sunday, and multiple law enforcement sources told CNN two men arrested in connection with the device admitted to being inspired by ISIS. FBI New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, along with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, is working with the NYPD on the investigation, the bureau said, noting the men remain in custody. Police said both men are from Pennsylvania, The New York Times reported. CNN has reached out to the NYPD for further information. The incident unfolded during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan outside the home of New York City’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and his wife Rama Duwaji. – Device hurled near NYC mayor’s mansion was an IED that could have caused ‘serious injury or death,’ NYPD says | CNN
(Avery Lotz – Axios) President Trump said Sunday he won’t sign any bills until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote. Trump has pushed for sweeping changes to how Americans vote ahead of midterm elections that could decide the fate of his presidential agenda. “It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else,” the president wrote on Truth Social. – Trump won’t sign bills until SAVE America Act passes
(Chuck McCutcheon – Axios) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday called on President Trump to release oil from the national stockpile to counter soaring gas prices — an idea that Republicans have been slow to embrace. Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could deprive Republicans of a talking point: That then-President Biden’s move to do so in 2022 was done for purely political reasons. Republicans’ message — as outlined on Sunday’s political talk shows — is that the uptick in prices following last week’s attacks on Iran is motivated largely by market fears and won’t last long. – Schumer calls on Trump to release oil from reserve to lower gas prices
