US-Israel-Iran War LIVE: Global Oil Prices Soar, Iran Chooses Mojtaba Khamenei As New Supreme Leader

France is deploying naval vessels – including its aircraft carrier strike group – to the ⁠Mediterranean, Red Sea, and potentially the Strait of Hormuz as part of “defensive” support to allies in the Middle East.

Speaking in Cyprus after it was hit by drones last week, President Emmanuel Macron: “When Cyprus is attacked then Europe is attacked.”

In all France will deploy eight warships, the aircraft carrier group, and two helicopter carriers to the region. That could ultimately include to the Strait of Hormuz to support commercial ‌vessels, Macron said.

Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) saw a sharp fall in trade on Monday, March 9, as the ongoing tensions in the Middle East led to one of the largest oil supply shocks, leading the price of crude oil to soar past $115 per barrel.

Hezbollah has congratulated Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei on his election as the third supreme leader of Iran, following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a statement, Hezbollah praised Iran’s Assembly of Experts for what it described as the swift election of a new leader despite the ongoing attack by the United States and Israel.

Ukraine says it received 11 requests from countries in the Middle East and Europe to receive security support to counter Iranian drone strikes.

“There is clear interest in Ukraine’s experience in protecting lives, relevant interceptors, electronic warfare systems, and training,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“Ukraine is ready to respond positively to requests from those who help us protect the lives of Ukrainians and the independence of Ukraine.”

⁠We have some comments from German ⁠Chancellor Friedrich Merz about ⁠increasing energy prices as a result of the war.

“We are concerned about the development ⁠of energy prices,” Merz told a news conference.

“⁠We know that this could potentially ⁠have an impact ⁠on the ⁠German economy,” he said.

UAE’s Defence Ministry says its air defence forces today detected 15 ballistic missiles, out of which 12 were destroyed and three fell in the sea.

They also detected 18 drones – 17 were intercepted and 1 crashed in the UAE territory, it said without elaborating on the results.

The latest launches put the total number of missiles and drones launched at the UAE since the start of the war in Iran to 253 and 1,440, respectively.

The attacks resulted in four people killed since February 28.

The ripples from war in the Middle East are already being felt in Europe, with rising energy prices and NATO allies targeted, according to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

“We are now seeing a regional conflict with unintended consequences. And the spillover is already a reality today,” the European Commission president told EU ambassadors, ahead of a midday call with Middle Eastern leaders.

“Our citizens are caught in the crossfire. Our partners are being attacked,” she said, citing an Iranian-made drone hitting a British base on EU-member Cyprus, trade disruptions and the “displacement of people”.

The “longer-term impact” of the war posed “existential questions” on the future of an international rules-based system and the 27-nation’s bloc place in the world, she told the annual gathering of European Union diplomats in Brussels.

The UN agency for children, UNICEF, says at least 83 children have been killed and 254 injured in Lebanon since March 2 as the war between Israel and Hezbollah intensified.

“On average, more than 10 children have been killed every day across Lebanon over the past week, with approximately 36 children injured each day,” the statement published on the UNICEF website said on Monday. “In the last 28 months, 329 children have reportedly been killed in Lebanon and 1,632 were injured,” it added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has just issued an urgent warning to people in Lebanon, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee says that in the coming hours, IDF will "act forcefully against the terrorist infrastructure belonging to the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association".

Israel says AQAH finances Hezbollah’s military activities - something the group denies. AQAH says it only provides small, interest-free loans to ordinary Lebanese people.

Continuing his remarks, Baghaei accused the US of seeking to take control of Iran’s oil resources.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson addressed reports of Iranian munitions being fired toward Turkey, Cyprus, and Azerbaijan over the past week, stating that “no offensives were initiated from Iranian territory” against these countries.

He also suggested that some of the reported attacks could have been “staged,” adding, “we have warned repeatedly that the enemy may stage certain attacks to drive a wedge between us and other countries.”

-Al Jazeera

In response to rising oil prices, a European Commission spokesperson said the European Union’s oil and gas supply coordination groups are scheduled to meet on Thursday.

The groups will assess the energy impact of the Middle East conflict and review EU countries’ latest evaluations of their oil supplies. EU member states are required to maintain oil stocks covering 90 days of consumption.

Comprising representatives from EU governments, these groups monitor the security of oil and gas supplies and coordinate crisis response measures.

Israel’s military says it has detected another wave of missiles launched from Iran heading toward Israel.

“Defence systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the army said, adding that people in impacted areas will receive mobile phone alerts about the situation.

-Al Jazeera

Turkey's Defense Ministry announced the deployment of six F-16 fighter jets and air defence systems to the breakaway Northern Cyprus “in light of recent developments in our region.”

“Additional measures will continue to be taken based on further developments, if deemed necessary,” the ministry added in its statement.

-Al Jazeera

The capital of the United Arab Emirates came under Iranian attack on Monday. Two people were hurt by shrapnel from interceptions in Abu Dhabi, authorities said.

Iran’s judiciary has reiterated that it can order the seizure of assets belonging to “enemies” abroad if those assets are in the country.

The announcement was made on the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.

Reporters for Farsi-language media abroad have seen their assets seized over the years.

The report also said “any intelligence or espionage activity conducted” abroad for the Israeli or U.S. governments “could lead to the confiscation of all assets and even the death penalty.”

Turkey has deployed six F-16 jets and air defence systems to the Turkish-Cypriot part of the divided island of Cyprus. The move is aimed at bolstering security, according to the Turkish defence ministry.

A ministry statement said additional measures would be taken if deemed necessary.

The deployment comes after a British air base on Cyprus’ southern coastline was hit by a drone last week.

Ankara maintains some 30,000 troops in northern Cyprus, which broke away from the Greek south in 1974. Turkey is the only country to recognise the northern administration.

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has confirmed that two Indian mariners have been killed during the war. He made the statement in an address to parliament.

The two victims were working on merchant shipping operating near the conflict zone. One sailor remains missing.

Jaishankar did not provide further details about the vessels involved.

“This ongoing conflict is an issue of particular concern for India,” Jaishankar said, explaining that nearly 10 million Indians live and work in Gulf countries.

The region also is central to India’s energy security and trade, accounting for nearly $200 billion annually in commerce, he said.

Jaishankar reiterated that India favours peace in the region and urged a return to dialogue and diplomacy.

“We advocate de-escalation, restraint and ensuring the safety of civilians,” he said.

Iranian state television has reported on the ascension of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new supreme leader, describing him as wounded in combat.

During the broadcast, state TV referred to him as “janbaz,” or wounded by the enemy, in the “Ramadan war,” the term used by Iranian media for the ongoing conflict.

An analyst appearing later on air put forward that Khamenei’s wounding might date back to his service in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.

The two accounts have not been squared away so far.

Khamenei’s father and his wife died in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran on 28 February, marking the beginning of the war. He has not appeared in public since the fighting started. His appointment as supreme leader was made public on Monday.

Iran had sought India’s permission for three of its ships to dock at its ports, which was granted on March 1, India’s foreign minister said, adding that the government believed it was the “right thing to do”.

One of the three ships docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on March 4, and its crew was at Indian naval facilities, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told Parliament on Monday.

-Al Jazeera

Israel’s military said it detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israel a short while ago.

“Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat. In the last few minutes, the Home Front Command has sent advance instructions directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas,” its statement said on X.

Bahrain said an Iranian attack on a facility in the village of Ma’ameer triggered a fire, according to the Bahrain News Agency.

The report said there were no casualties in the incident.

It added that efforts to extinguish the blaze are currently underway.

Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, claiming an attack on Israeli forces near the border area.

The Lebanese group says a group of vehicles and soldiers of the Israeli army has been targeted on the outskirts of Odaisseh village with a barrage of rockets.

Hezbollah said the attack came this morning in response to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

-Al Jazeera

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that any decision on ending the war with Iran would be taken in consultation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a phone interview with The Times of Israel, Trump said Netanyahu would have a role in discussions on how to resolve the conflict.

“I think it’s mutual… a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything will be taken into account,” Trump said.

India’s Embassy in Riyadh on Monday confirmed that no Indian citizens were killed after a projectile struck a residential compound in Saudi Arabia.

The embassy said one Indian national was injured in the incident, which occurred on Sunday, and is currently receiving treatment at a government hospital.

“It is a matter of relief that there has been no Indian fatality in the unfortunate incident at Al Kharj yesterday evening,” the mission said in a post on social media, referring to the attack in Al Kharj.

- PTI

Bahrain said sirens are sounding Monday morning in the country ahead of an attack, urging people to head to safe locations.

The expected order was formally issued on the same day the U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on the kingdom.

The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom.

The kingdom’s Civil Defense also confirmed Sunday that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.

The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.

They are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began on Feb. 28.

-AP

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said forces destroyed Monday morning four more drones that were attacking the vast Shaybah oil field.