New attacks and oil at $100 - what is known about the war in the Middle East this morning

Middle Eastern countries report new air attacks on Monday morning, UNN writes with reference to CNN.

Details

Here's what's known as of this morning:

• Iran: Israel launched a new wave of strikes on central Iran, its military said. Hours after Iran appointed its new supreme leader, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced new missile launches;
• Lebanon: The Israeli military also said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the capital Beirut. Video released by Reuters showed plumes of smoke rising over the city's southern suburbs. Separately, video showed a fire at the Ramada Hotel in Beirut and damage to an apartment in the hotel after an Israeli attack. This came after the Israeli military said it struck Beirut overnight, killing several senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commanders;
• Bahrain: At least 32 people were injured, four of them seriously, in Iranian drone strikes on the Sitra district, the kingdom's national communications authority told CNN. According to it, children were also affected by the attacks targeting residential areas located near energy infrastructure. Videos circulated on social media and geolocated by CNN show a large fire and thick smoke rising over the industrial zone where Bahrain's national oil company BAPCO is located, in the city of Riffa on Monday morning;
• United Arab Emirates: A CNN crew in Abu Dhabi heard loud explosions and said they were some of the loudest explosions they had heard since the war began. The country's Ministry of Defense said the sounds were the result of air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, as well as fighter jets intercepting;
• Saudi Arabia: Four drones heading for the Shaybah oil field - one of the largest in the region - were intercepted and destroyed in the vast Rub' al Khali desert, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense said;
• Kuwait: A drone was shot down by the Kuwait National Guard "at one of the facilities under its protection." The forces said they shot down the drone "as part of efforts to secure vital facilities";
• Qatar: The armed forces intercepted a missile strike, the Ministry of Defense said.

Meanwhile, it is noted that key centers of power in Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quickly rallied around Mojtaba Khamenei after his appointment as Iran's new supreme leader, "indicating a possible continuation of his late father's hardline policies."

The expanding conflict led to oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel on Sunday, for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Oil price exceeds $100 for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine09.03.26, 02:53 • 32625 views

Here's what else is known:

• Mojtaba's first step: After Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed his assassinated father, Ali Khamenei, as the country's new supreme leader, questions are now arising about how he will lead Iran through one of the biggest crises in its modern history and what his first step will be. US President Donald Trump previously stated that the election of the younger Khamenei would be "unacceptable" to him. Before the announcement, Trump said that the new supreme leader "would not last long" without his approval, and the Israeli military vowed to target Ali Khamenei's successor;
• Oil prices: Asian markets fell on Monday amid growing investor fears about the ongoing war in the Middle East, which led to oil prices rising to a four-year high. Oil futures and gasoline prices soared as traders fear that the war in Iran will lead to prolonged restrictions on oil supplies worldwide;
• Trump's comments: Trump dismissed concerns about rising oil prices, calling it a "very small price." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Trump to use the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world's largest emergency oil supply, to lower energy prices. Meanwhile, administration officials are trying to allay fears about rising gasoline prices;
• Strike on Iranian school: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US is still investigating a strike on an Iranian school that killed at least 168 children. US President Donald Trump told reporters that he believes Iran is responsible for the strike. Recently surfaced video apparently shows a US airstrike on a building at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base located next to an elementary school in Minab, where, according to Iranian state media, more than 160 girls died on February 28. The video, published on Mehr News, as noted by CNN, "is the first to show a missile strike on the area and adds to evidence that appears to contradict the US president's claims."