Iran issued one of the most alarming economic threats in recent memory, warning that global oil prices could surge to $200 per barrel unless Israeli attacks on Iranian energy facilities were halted immediately. The warning sent shockwaves through financial markets, pushing crude prices above $100 for the first time since 2022.
Israeli forces struck four oil storage facilities in and around Tehran over the weekend, killing four workers and blanketing the capital in a dense, suffocating haze. The city of Karaj, located near Tehran, was also hit, with explosions reverberating across a wide area and raising alarm among civilians and energy analysts alike.
Gulf nations were simultaneously targeted by Iranian forces. Saudi Arabia intercepted 15 drones in a single day, while strikes in Bahrain damaged a critical desalination plant. Two civilians were killed in Al-Kharj, a city in Saudi Arabia, and a US service member died from injuries sustained during a separate Iranian attack on American forces in the region.
Iran’s clerical leadership underwent a dramatic transition amid the fighting. The Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, marking the first hereditary transfer of Iran’s highest office since the Islamic Revolution. The appointment was widely seen as likely to prolong, rather than reduce, the conflict.
The United States pledged not to target Iranian energy infrastructure and predicted that supply disruptions would be temporary. But markets remained unconvinced, with analysts noting that the simultaneous targeting of Iranian, Gulf, and US assets represented a dangerous new level of regional escalation.