President Donald Trump called surging oil costs a "very small price to pay."
Iran rallies around new leader after 10 days of war as oil prices spike
By Mary Ilyushina and Sammy Westfall
Oil prices soared above $100 a barrel on Monday as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered its 10th day and fears of a prolonged conflict sent shock waves through global energy markets, with multiple Iranian retaliatory strikes reported overnight across the region.
Global markets reacted sharply to the hostilities, with steep losses first hitting markets in Asia, where economies such as China rely heavily on oil imports from the Middle East. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell more than 2 percent in early trading, while Londons FTSE 100 dropped more than 1.5 percent and Germanys DAX declined more than 2.5 percent. U.S. futures also signaled a weaker open on Wall Street.
Iranians are expected to gather nationwide on Monday afternoon to pledge allegiance to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a hard-line regime insider deeply intertwined with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps whose rise sends a strong message of defiance against the United States.
Hours after Iran named its new supreme leader, the IRGC announced more missile strikes across the region. On Monday, Israel said it had launched a new wave of wide-scale strikes across Iran, targeting Tehran, Isfahan and sites in the countrys south. The Israeli military also said it hit Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollahs infrastructure in Beirut. Videos shared on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from the Lebanese capitals southern suburbs.
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