TOP DEVELOPMENTS
The West Asia conflict, triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran entered the tenth day with oil prices surging as Tehran continued retaliatory strikes on Gulf, Arab countries hosting US military bases. Here are the top developments:
Iran names Khamenei's successor: Iran's ruling clerics have appointed slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, defying threats from the United States and Israel.
Crude oil prices surpass $100 a barrel: Oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was at $107.97 after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 16.5% from its Friday closing price of $92.69.
Israel continues attacks on Lebanon: Hezbollah said it was engaging Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon overnight by helicopter across the Syrian border while Israel attacked Beirut again on early Monday. Two IDF soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.
US and Israel bombs Iran: Iran was bombarded with explosions reported in Qom and Tehran, hours after Israeli attacks on oil facilities caused toxic smoke across the Iranian capital.
GCC countries report fresh attacks: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait all reported new attacks. Saudi Arabia reported two deaths from a "projectile" attack while Bahrain's health ministry said Monday that an Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra overnight wounded 32 civilians.
Israel used white phosphorus bombs: Human Rights Watch has alleged that Israel had "unlawfully" used white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town, during its attacks last week.
The Indian market’s benchmark index, the BSE Sensex, crashed nearly 2,500 points on Monday morning to hit a low of 77,057, while the NSE Nifty50 fell more than 750 points to below the 23,700 level.
Barring Coal India, 49 stocks in the Nifty50 pack were in the red, with IndiGo, Tata Motors, SBI, Tata Steel and Shriram Finance falling the most.
Saudi Arabia lambasted Iran on Monday, calling Tehran's attacks targeting the kingdom and their Gulf neighbours "reprehensible," according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
Saudi Arabia "renews the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's categorical condemnation of the reprehensible Iranian aggressions against the Kingdom, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, a number of Arab and Islamic countries, and friendly nations, which cannot be accepted or justified under any circumstances," the statement posted on the ministry's official X account read.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates reported a missile attack early Monday that its air defence systems were responding to, as Iran continues its retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.
"Air defence systems are currently responding to a missile threat," the country's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said in a post on X.
Human Rights Watch on Monday alleged that Israel had "unlawfully" used white phosphorus over residential parts of a southern Lebanese town, during its attacks last week.
"The Israeli military unlawfully used artillery-fired white phosphorus munitions over homes on March 3, 2026, in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor," the New York-based rights group said in a report.
HRW added that it "verified and geolocated seven images showing airburst white phosphorus munitions being deployed over a residential part of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires in at least two homes and one car in that area."
The 56-year-old had no official post during his father's rule, but was speculated to be acting behind the scenes to pull strings at the heart of power in Iran.
He is regarded as close to conservatives, notably because of his ties with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which swiftly pledged allegiance to the new leader.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health says at least three people have been killed and 15 others wounded in an Israeli attack on southern Tayr Debba.
The latest killings come hours after the health authorities reported that at least three people were killed and 16 others wounded in an Israeli raid on the nearby town of Joya.
The Saudi defence ministry said Monday it had thwarted a drone attack targeting an oil field in the kingdom's east, near the Emirati border.
"Four drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed," a defence ministry statement said.
The Israeli military says it has begun a wave of strikes in central Iran in parallel with attacks on alleged Hezbollah sites in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Stock markets in South Korea and Japan fell sharply in early trade on Monday after oil prices soared above $100 per barrel for the first time in almost four years.
The US State Department said it had ordered "non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks".
Bahrain's ministry of health said Monday that an Iranian drone attack which targeted the Gulf nation's island of Sitra overnight wounded 32 civilians.
All of the wounded were Bahraini citizens and there were four "serious cases", including children, said the ministry in a statement carried by the Gulf nation's state news agency.
Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran early Monday, telling Tehran it would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states.
The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.
The kingdom dismissed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday that Iran had halted its attacks on Gulf Arab states.
“The kingdom affirms that the Iranian side has not implemented this statement in practice, neither during the Iranian president’s speech nor afterward,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Iran has continued its aggression based on flimsy pretexts devoid of any factual basis.”
It added the Iranian attacks mean “further escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future.”
The price of the main US benchmark for oil rocketed 25 percent in Asia on Monday over worries that the spiralling Middle East war could create prolonged supply disruptions.
At 0208 GMT West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up 26.45 percent at $114.94 per barrel while Brent Crude was 23.64 percent higher at $114.60.
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes targeting "regime infrastructure" in central Iran on Monday, the first such announcement since the Islamic republic appointed a new supreme leader.
Israeli forces have "begun an additional wave of strikes on Iranian terror regime infrastructure in central Iran", the military said in a brief statement, shortly after announcing strikes on Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to a report by The Times of Israel, the US president declined to comment on Iran’s recent appointment during an interview, saying only, “We’ll see what happens.”
The outlet also reported that Trump said the decision on ending the war involving Iran would be a “mutual” one made together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think it’s mutual… a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account,” he said.
Trump also called on Israel’s President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Netanyahu, who is currently facing trial on corruption charges.
Referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, Trump said: “Bibi Netanyahu should be given that pardon immediately. I think [Herzog is] doing a terrible thing by not giving it. We want Bibi to be focused on the war, not on a ridiculous pardon.”
Hezbollah said on Monday it was engaging Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon by helicopter across the Syrian border, the second such operation since the outbreak of the latest conflict with Israel.
The U.S. military said it killed six men Sunday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration's campaign against alleged traffickers.
Several explosions were heard on Monday in the Qatari capital Doha as Iran continued its retaliatory strikes across the Gulf, according to reports by the AFP.
Doha has been targeted by waves of Iranian drones and missiles since Iran launched a sprawling retaliation campaign across the Gulf in the wake of the US and Israeli attacks against the Islamic republic.
Kuwait's defence ministry said the country's air defences were working to intercept a new missile and drone attack on the Gulf nation on Monday, as Iran continues its retaliatory strikes in its war with the United States and Israel.
"Kuwaiti air defenses are currently dealing with missile and hostile drone attacks," the ministry said.
On Sunday, Kuwait was targeted by seven missiles and five drones, according to figures released by authorities.
Stock markets in South Korea and Japan fell sharply in early trade on Monday after the US oil benchmark soared above $100 per barrel.
South Korea's Kospi was down 5.5 percent while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was off around 4.5 percent. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was trading at $108.25 per barrel.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader, but Trump has previously stated he has a dim view of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump has derided the 56-year-old who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as “a lightweight.”
“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said in an interview with Axios last week.
“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodríguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges.
Trump earlier on Sunday repeated that he expects to have a say in picking Iran’s next leader, warning that a new leader “is not going to last long” if the person doesn’t have his approval.
The United States said late Sunday that it was ordering embassy staff to leave Saudi Arabia as Iran strikes the kingdom in retaliation for an attack by Washington and Israel.
The State Department said in a travel advisory it had "ordered non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks."
Hezbollah on Monday said it was engaging Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon by helicopter across the Syrian border, amid the new war between the Iran-backed militant group and Israel.
In a statement, the Lebanese group said it detected "the infiltration of approximately 15 Israeli enemy helicopters" from the Syrian side of the border in eastern Lebanon.
The group said its fighters "engaged the helicopters and the infiltrating force with appropriate weapons, and the confrontation" was ongoing.
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday welcomed Iran's ruling clerics appointing their slain leader's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, calling it a major blow for the Islamic republic's enemies as it fights a war with the United States and Israel.
"We congratulate the Islamic Republic of Iran, its leadership and people, on the selection of Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution at this important and pivotal juncture," the group said in a statement on Telegram.
It called his selection "a new victory for the Islamic Revolution and a resounding blow to the enemies of the Islamic Republic and the enemies of the nation".
Clashes broke out in eastern Lebanon on Monday after Israeli forces landed by helicopter on the Lebanese-Syrian border, state media reported.
"Fierce clashes are taking place... towards the outskirts of the town of Nabi Sheet to repel Israeli forces that carried out a landing by helicopters on the heights of the eastern mountain range towards the Lebanese-Syrian border and are trying to advance," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
Two Hezbollah sources told AFP on condition of anonymity that an Israeli helicopter in the area was downed by the group.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed the war-related spike in oil prices as a "small price to pay" for removing the threat of Iran's nuclear program.
"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
A Hezbollah official told AFP on Monday it downed an Israeli helicopter in eastern Lebanon, amid the new war between the Iran-backed militant group and Israel.
"An Israeli helicopter was downed in the mountains east of Baalbek," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several people were injured on Sunday in an Iranian drone attack on Bahrain's island of Sitra, the interior ministry said, as AFP journalists reported two loud explosions.
"As a result of the blatant Iranian aggression, injuries among citizens were reported, one of them serious, and a number of houses in Sitra were damaged as a result of an attack by drones," the ministry said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards pledged allegiance on Sunday to the country's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, after he was appointed his father's successor by the Assembly of Experts.
"The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps... is ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine commands of the Guardian Jurist of the time, His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei", the Guards said in a statement.
Iran's Assembly of Experts announced Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader on Sunday.
In a lengthy statement, the assembly said that "after careful and extensive studies... in today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei (may Allah protect him) is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the decisive vote of the respected representatives of the Assembly of Experts."
The military said in a statement that the headquarters struck in Teheran operated “the ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units.”
The army’s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the headquarters were “destroyed.”
Israel has pounded Iran with widespread airstrikes for days, hitting more than 140 targets on Sunday alone, according to Defrin.
The US military on Sunday announced that a service member in Saudi Arabia had died after being wounded in an Iranian attack, the seventh American combat death since the war began.
US Central Command, which oversees American military forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that the service member died Saturday "from injuries received during the Iranian regime's initial attacks across the Middle East."
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his US and Iranian counterparts Sunday ahead of a trip to Cyprus aimed at reinforcing security during the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The first Western leader to speak with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian since the outbreak of the war, Macron said on X that he "stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region".
He also urged Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, he added. He gave no details of his conversation with US President Donald Trump.
The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed three key commanders from the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards in a strike on a hotel in Beirut, which it said left five Guards dead.
"Overnight, the Israeli Navy, directed by precise IDF intelligence, conducted a precise strike in Beirut, Lebanon, targeting five commanders from the IRGC's Lebanon Corps and Palestine Corps while they were meeting at a hotel in Beirut," the military said.
In a separate statement Israel's military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said "there is no safe place for the Iranian axis of evil anywhere in the Middle East -- not in Beirut and not anywhere else."
Israel's military chief warned on Sunday that the state of emergency in the country could last "much longer" as conflict wracked the Middle East.
"Israel has been under a state of emergency for two years; we must expect it to take much longer -- patience is required," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in video released by the military.
