Oil prices jump and markets slide as Iran names new supreme leader and digs in
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil prices surged and stock markets slid Monday after hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader. His appointment, and new strikes on regional oil infrastructure, signaled that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel.
The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets, led foreigners to flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit sites like military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school.
Khamenei, a secretive 56-year-old cleric, is only the third supreme leader in the history of the Islamic Republic. He has close ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989, was killed during the war’s opening salvo.
The appointment suggests Tehran is not close to giving up on what it considers a fight for the Islamic theocracy’s survival.
Thousands poured into a central square in Tehran and other locations in a show of allegiance to the new supreme leader, waving flags of the Islamic Republic and shouting phrases like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
“America and Israel: you’ve failed and you will drown in the swamp you are stuck in,” said Abbas Ali Saeedipoor, one of the demonstrators.
Growing alarm as oil prices rise with no end in sight to the war
Brent crude oil, the international standard, surged to nearly $120 a barrel Monday, about 65% higher than when the war started, before retreating below $100. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 600 points, or over 1.3%, shortly after opening — marking a drop of more than 6-1/2% from its all-time high close last month, though it later pared its losses.
Source: Oil prices rise and markets dip as Iran digs in with new leader | AP News
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