Iran has threatened to attack oil facilities in neighbouring countries after Israel struck at least five energy sites in and around Tehran, enveloping the city in black smoke and raising fears of major disruption to the global economy. A spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned on Sunday: “If you can tolerate oil at more than $200 per barrel, continue this game.”
The Israeli airstrikes hit four storage facilities, killing four employees, according to Iran’s oil distribution company. Thick plumes of smoke and fireballs rose over Tehran, with explosions also reported in the nearby city of Karaj. The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said Washington would not target Iran’s energy infrastructure and described disruptions as likely brief, lasting “a few weeks” at worst. Iran produces about 4% of global oil, much of it exported to China.
Amid the escalating conflict, Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen as his successor by the clerical assembly responsible for selecting Iran’s highest authority. The body announced the decision on Sunday night, calling for national unity and allegiance to the new leadership. This marks the first father-to-son succession since the 1979 Islamic revolution, a development likely to fuel debate about dynastic rule in Iran.
US President Donald Trump had previously indicated that Mojtaba Khamenei was the likely successor and deemed such an outcome unacceptable. In a post on X, the Israeli military said it would pursue every successor of Ali Khamenei and anyone who sought to appoint one. The clerical meeting took place as fighting intensified, with Iranian strikes hitting energy infrastructure across the Gulf and Israeli attacks targeting oil storage and fuel facilities inside Iran.
A fresh wave of Iranian strikes hit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday. Saudi Arabia reported intercepting 15 drones, while a strike in Bahrain caused “material damage” to a desalination plant. Two people were killed and 12 injured in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Kharj city after a projectile hit a residential area. The US military confirmed the death of a service member from injuries sustained in an Iranian attack on US troops in Saudi Arabia, bringing the US death toll to seven.
According to US media reports, Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence that could help target US military assets in the region.
