Explainer
Mojtaba Khamenei has been elected as the new Supreme Leader of Iran. Attacks continue and oil prices rise.
Published on 9 March 2026
America and Israel continue to attack Iran in a war that entered its 10th day on Monday.
A week after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, Iranian officials named his son Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor.
Meanwhile, Iranian attacks on US military assets and other infrastructure in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continued.
As the war intensified, the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, rose to $119.50 per barrel, having eased slightly to $112.98 on Monday. It remains above the $100 mark, then markets start to panic.
Here are the contents of the 10th day of the battle:
In Iran
- Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been appointed as Iran’s new supreme leader, Iranian state media reported. Political leaders, including President Massoud Pezheshkian, have supported his appointment.
- At least 104 people were killed and 32 injured in a US attack on an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka last week, Iran’s military said on Sunday.
In the Gulf countries
- Qatar: At 3 a.m. (00:00 GMT) on Monday, the government issued an alert advising residents that the threat level had increased. About a dozen explosions were heard before a notification was issued a few minutes later that the threat had subsided. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the armed forces intercepted the missiles aimed at the state.
- Saudi Arabia: The Defense Ministry said on Monday that its air forces intercepted and destroyed the drone, which was flying over the Rab al-Khali desert towards the Shaiba oil field. The US Embassy in Riyadh said the State Department had ordered the departure of non-emergency government employees and family members of all workers from Saudi Arabia “due to security risks.” Late Sunday night, two Bangladeshi nationals were killed and 12 others injured in an attack in the central city of Kharj. All but one are from Bangladesh.
- Bahrain: On Monday, the interior ministry said sirens had been activated in the country and people were urged to move to the “nearest safe place”. The official Bahrain News Agency reported that an Iranian strike targeting a facility in the village of Mamir caused the fire. No casualties have been reported while the fire is being extinguished. State media reported that Bahrain’s Bapco Energies has declared “force majeure” — a contractual provision that releases parties from obligations as a result of uncontrollable or unforeseen events — for group operations, according to state media.
- UAE: The country’s air defense units are responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.
In Israel
- Iran announced new missile attacks on Israel on Monday and Israeli news reported that debris from interceptors fell in three areas.
- The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) destroyed the air force headquarters, the Israeli military said in a statement on Monday.
In the US
- The US military has lost eight American service members after a soldier died of wounds sustained during an Iranian attack on soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
In Lebanon and Cyprus
- Israel attacked the Ghobeiri municipality in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Monday’s footage, reviewed by Al Jazeera, showed the moment the strike hit, with a loud explosion heard on camera. It also showed the aftermath of the attack with thick clouds of smoke rising.
- Human Rights Watch released a new report on Monday that revealed evidence that Israel used white phosphorus in residential areas of southern Lebanon earlier this month in violation of international humanitarian law.
- Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense said it had deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems to isolated northern Cyprus “in light of recent developments in our region”.
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