Iran names Khamenei’s son to succeed him, signaling no letup in warfare

By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING and SAMY MAGDY

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran named the hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as supreme chief on Monday, signaling no letup within the warfare launched by the US and Israel. Oil costs surged as Iran attacked regional vitality infrastructure and the U.S. and Israel bombed targets throughout Iran.

With Iran’s theocracy beneath assault for greater than every week, the nation’s Meeting of Specialists selected the secretive, 56-year-old cleric with shut ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as the brand new supreme chief. The Guard has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had dominated Iran for 37 years, was killed throughout the warfare’s opening salvo.

The appointment marked a brand new signal of defiance by Iran’s embattled management after greater than every week of heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment, suggesting that Tehran shouldn’t be near giving up on what it considers a combat for the nation’s existence.

World markets plummeted following the information, and Brent crude oil, the worldwide customary, surged to just about $120 a barrel on Monday, about 65% increased than when the warfare began, earlier than retreating.

Iran’s assaults within the Strait of Hormuz have additionally all however stopped tankers from utilizing the important thing delivery lane by way of which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried. Fireplace broke out at an oil facility that Iran attacked within the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain’s solely oil refinery was apparently additionally hit, and Saudi Arabia stated it had intercepted a number of drones attacking its Shaybah oil subject.

In Israel, sirens blared a number of instances on Monday as Iran’s drones and missiles have been unrelenting. A person was killed in central Israel in a missile strike, the primary such loss of life in Israel in every week, and a girl was wounded.

Israel stated it struck the Iranian metropolis of Isfahan, hitting command facilities for the Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer Basij pressure, in addition to a rocket engine manufacturing facility and missile launch websites. There was no instant affirmation from Iran.

New Iranian chief seen as much more hard-line than his father

The youthful Khamenei, who has not been seen in public for the reason that warfare began, was lengthy thought-about a possible successor — even earlier than the Israeli strike killed his father. His spouse, Zahra Haddad Adel, was killed in the identical Israeli strike that killed the 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Political figures inside Iran have criticized handing over the supreme chief’s title primarily based on heredity, evaluating it to the monarchy overthrown within the 1979 Islamic Revolution. However high clerics within the Meeting of Specialists apparently voted for continuity.

Khamenei, who’s seen as much more hard-line than his late father, will now be answerable for Iran’s armed forces and any resolution about Tehran’s nuclear program.

Whereas Iran’s key nuclear websites are in tatters after the U.S. bombed them throughout the 12-day Israel-Iran warfare in June, it nonetheless has extremely enriched uranium that’s a technical step away from weapons-grade ranges. Khamenei might select to do what his father by no means did — construct a nuclear bomb.

Israel has already described him as a possible goal, whereas U.S. President Donald Trump has referred to as him “unacceptable” and dismissed him as a “light-weight.”

Each the Revolutionary Guard and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah issued statements in assist of Khamenei.

Prime Iranian safety official Ali Larijani, talking to Iranian state tv, praised the Meeting of Specialists for “courageously” convening whilst airstrikes continued in Tehran. He stated the youthful Khamenei had been educated by his father and “can deal with this example.”

Regional anger grows as vitality infrastructure is hit and oil costs spike

Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following a thwarted drone assault on its huge Shaybah oil subject, saying Tehran can be the “largest loser” if it continues to assault Arab states.

Within the UAE, authorities stated two individuals have been wounded by shrapnel from the interception of Iranian missiles over the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Iran additionally attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, the place it hit a residential space, wounding 32 individuals, together with a number of youngsters, in accordance with authorities. One other assault appeared to have began a hearth at Bahrain’s solely oil refinery, sending thick plumes of smoke into the air.

Bahrain has additionally accused Iran of damaging considered one of its desalination vegetation, although its electrical energy and water authority stated provides remained on-line. Desalination vegetation provide water to tens of millions of residents within the area, elevating new fears of catastrophic dangers in parched desert nations.

On Monday, Bahrain’s state oil firm declared pressure majeure for its oil shipments, the state-run Bahrain Information Company reported, a authorized maneuver releasing an organization of its contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances. It insisted that native demand might nonetheless be met.

In Iraq, air defenses downed a drone because it attacked a U.S. army compound contained in the Baghdad Worldwide Airport, a safety supply instructed The Related Press, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk to the press. No accidents or injury have been reported. It was not instantly clear who was behind the assault, however Iran-backed militias have beforehand focused the bottom.

Elsewhere, the U.S. army stated a service member died of accidents from an Iranian assault on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. troopers have now been killed.

The U.S. State Division early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and households of all workers to go away Saudi Arabia following the escalation in assaults.

Eight different U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all however key workers to go away: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the consulates in Karachi, Pakistan, and Adana, Turkey.

Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon

Smoke billowed over Beirut after Israel carried out airstrikes on its southern suburbs Monday.

Forward of the strikes, the Israeli military stated it could function in opposition to targets related to the Hezbollah-linked monetary establishment al-Qard Al-Hasan — which Israel stated funds the militant group — and repeated its warning to residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to flee.

The warfare has killed not less than 1,230 individuals in Iran, not less than 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, in accordance with officers. One other particular person died in Israel of an bronchial asthma assault on her solution to a shelter. Israel reported its first soldier deaths on Sunday, saying two have been killed in southern Lebanon, the place it’s combating Hezbollah.

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Related Press journalists Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Financial institution; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut; Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and Qassem Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed reporting.