Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader as the week-old US-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Mojtaba had been viewed as a frontrunner in the lead-up to Sunday's vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei's successor.
"By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of Iran," the Assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time.
The position gives Mojtaba the final say in all matters of state in Iran.
Mojtaba’s appointment will likely draw the ire of US President Donald Trump, who said on Sunday that Washington should have a say in the selection. "If he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long," he told ABC News.
Israel, ahead of the announcement, threatened to target whoever was chosen.
In an interview with the Times of Israel after the new supreme leader was named, Trump declined to respond, saying only "We'll see what happens," according to the newspaper. Trump also said in the interview that ending the war would be a "mutual" decision with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mojtaba's father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in one of the first strikes launched against Iran more than a week ago.
Washington on Sunday ordered the departure of non-emergency employees at its embassy in Saudi Arabia, the latest drawdown of US diplomats as Iran has struck US facilities in the region.
The US military reported a seventh American has died from wounds sustained during Iran's initial counter-attack a week ago, a day after Trump presided over the return to the United States of the remains of the six others killed.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's UN ambassador.
OIL OVER $100 A BARREL
The expanding war has severely impacted the oil trade, and surging prices sparked a fall in share futures in Asia on Monday, amid fears of rising living costs. The dollar rose sharply against the euro and the yen.
US crude futures rose more than 20 per cent in early trade on Monday, hitting their highest since July 2022, amid fears of tighter supply and prolonged disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent jumped 17 per cent to $108.73 a barrel, having already soared 28 per cent last week.
On Wall Street, S&P 500 futures shed 1.6 per cent, while Nasdaq futures dived 1.7 per cent.
Trump, in a social media post, said oil prices "will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over," and said the price hike was "a very small price to pay for USA, and World, Safety and Peace".
'DANGEROUS NEW PHASE'
As fighting escalated on Sunday, day nine of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, thick black smoke hung over Tehran, residents said, after strikes on oil storage facilities had lit up the night sky with plumes of orange flame.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the large-scale attack marked a "dangerous new phase" of the conflict and amounted to a war crime.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters the depots were used to fuel Iran's war effort, including producing or storing propellant for ballistic missiles. "They are a legal military target," he said.
Netanyahu said his government would press on with the assault and strike Iran's rulers "without mercy".
"We have an organised plan with many surprises to destabilise the regime and enable change," he said in a video statement.
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