By Desire Emmanuel
Iran marked the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father as its supreme leader with a new barrage of missiles against Israel and the Gulf states on Monday, March 9, as the Middle East war sent oil prices soaring, the Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.
As Iran entered its new era — and the conflict its 10th day — world oil prices soared, Saudi Arabia battled drones targeting oil fields and Bahrain’s state energy company warned after a missile strike that it may be unable to fulfil export contracts.
The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also reported new attacks, and Asian economies reacted quickly. The Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed down by more than five percent, Filipino motorists queued to fill their tanks and Vietnam prepared to scrap tariffs on fuel imports.
European markets also opened sharply down, and gas prices on the continent soared 30 percent. Since the start of the war, the benchmark oil contract WTI has risen more than 75 percent and Brent more than 60.
Iranian state media said the Assembly of Experts, Tehran’s top clerical body, did not hesitate in choosing a new leader despite “the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime”, then showed a missile ready for launch bearing the slogan “At your command, Sayyid Mojtaba”.
Following strikes on Bahrain’s sprawling Al Ma’ameer oil facility that ignited a fire and material damage, the country’s state-owned energy company Bapco joined its counterparts in Qatar and Kuwait in declaring “force majeure” — a warning that events beyond its control may lead it to miss export targets.
