I want to dance on the corpse of those who shot my sisters and brothers.
Ten days into a conflict that has reshaped the calculus of the Middle East, the United States and Israel continue strikes against Iran while oil markets convulse and a new supreme leader steps into a throne made vacant by war. The appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the man killed in the opening salvos, signals that Iran intends to endure — yet Washington and Tel Aviv have already made clear that endurance itself may be treated as a provocation. From the wounded infant in Bahrain to the silent footballers in Queensland, the war's reach extends far beyond any map of declared targets, touching the intimate and the economic in equal measure.
- Oil has crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Brent crude surging 18% to $110 and Iraq's southern output collapsing by 70%, sending Asian stock markets into freefall.
- Iranian drone and missile strikes have wounded 32 people in Bahrain — among them a two-month-old infant — killed two in Saudi Arabia, and prompted the US to order its non-emergency personnel to evacuate the kingdom entirely.
- Iran's clerical assembly has named Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, but Trump, Israeli officials, and Senator Lindsey Graham have each signaled, with varying degrees of explicitness, that the appointment may be a death sentence.
- The Pentagon is investigating a strike on an Iranian school that killed at least 168 children, with Defense Secretary Hegseth refusing to confirm US involvement while Trump publicly blamed Iran itself — leaving the truth suspended in dangerous ambiguity.
- Iran's women's football team, already labeled 'traitors' by state media after a silent anthem protest, now faces potential persecution upon returning home, with the exiled crown prince urging Australia to grant them protection.
- Inside Tehran, families are fracturing over whether to flee or stay, while pro-government rallies grow louder each night — a city simultaneously bracing for collapse and performing its own defiance.
Ten days into a war that few anticipated unfolding this way, the Middle East is in convulsion. Oil has crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly halted, and Iran has named a new supreme leader — Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, son of Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike during the opening phase of American and Israeli operations that began February 28.
The appointment signals a bid for continuity at the worst possible moment. Mojtaba has deep ties to the Revolutionary Guard and now holds both religious authority and military command. Washington and Tel Aviv responded with barely veiled threats: Trump said he was 'not happy,' Israeli Defense Minister Katz warned any leader pursuing Israel's destruction would be targeted, and Senator Graham posted that the new leader would 'meet the same fate' as his father. Trump told ABC News that whoever leads Iran will not survive long without American approval.
The economic shockwave is already global. Brent crude jumped 18% to around $110 a barrel — the largest weekly gain since April 2020. US gasoline prices rose 47 cents in a week. Kuwait scaled back oil output and declared force majeure; Iraq's southern fields dropped from 4.3 million to roughly 1.3 million barrels per day. Asian markets absorbed the blow badly: Japan's Nikkei fell 7%, South Korea's Kospi dropped 7.8%. Trump has refused to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling short-term price pain 'a very small price to pay.'
The fighting has spread across the Gulf. Israeli strikes hit central Iran and Beirut; Iran fired missiles visible above Netanya. In Bahrain, Iranian drones wounded 32 people in the town of Sitra, including a two-month-old infant and several children. Two people were killed in Saudi Arabia when a projectile struck a residential building. The US has ordered non-emergency staff to leave the kingdom — its first mandatory departure order since the war began. A seventh American service member has been confirmed dead.
The Pentagon is investigating a strike on an Iranian school that killed at least 168 children. Defense Secretary Hegseth declined to confirm US involvement; Trump suggested Iran itself was responsible. The ambiguity has become its own form of damage.
In Australia, Iran's women's football team was eliminated from the Women's Asian Cup, having already drawn international attention for standing silent during their national anthem — a gesture read widely as protest, made just two days after the attacks began. Iranian state media called them traitors. The exiled crown prince urged Australia to protect them from what he called 'dire consequences' upon return.
In Tehran, residents are fracturing. One man told CNN his wife wants to flee after the heaviest bombardments yet, while he feels bound to stay — waiting, he said, to witness the fall of those who crushed the last uprising. On the streets each night, pro-government rallies grow louder, flags waving, slogans chanted. The war has entered a new phase, and no one yet knows its shape.
Ten days into a war that nobody quite expected to unfold this way, the Middle East is convulsing. Oil has crossed $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has nearly stopped. And in Tehran, a committee of senior clerics has just named Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, as Iran's new supreme leader—the son of Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike during the opening phase of American and Israeli attacks that began on February 28.
The appointment signals continuity at a moment when Iran can least afford instability. Mojtaba Khamenei has deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and will now serve not only as the country's top religious and political authority but also as commander in chief of its armed forces. Yet the choice has already drawn sharp reactions from Washington and Tel Aviv. President Trump, speaking to Fox News, said he was "not happy" with the decision. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz made clear that any Iranian leader pursuing Israel's destruction would be a target for assassination, regardless of name or location. Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime Iran hawk, warned on social media that the new leader would "meet the same fate" as his father. Trump himself told ABC News that whoever leads Iran will not last long without American approval. "If he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long," Trump said, adding that the administration wants to avoid returning to this problem every decade.
The economic shock ripples outward in real time. Brent crude futures climbed 18 percent to trade near $110 a barrel on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped roughly 20 percent to around $109.50. These are the largest weekly gains since April 2020 for Brent and since 1983 for US crude contracts. In the United States, gasoline prices have jumped 47 cents—about 16 percent—over the past week, reaching $3.45 per gallon. The White House insists the spike will be temporary, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressing Trump to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the country's largest emergency supply. Trump has refused, telling Reuters he has no plans to tap the reserve. He dismissed concerns about fuel costs on social media, writing that short-term price increases are "a very small price to pay" for eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat.
The production cuts are real and severe. Kuwait, the fifth-largest OPEC+ producer, announced it would scale back output as a precaution, citing Iranian threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The company declared force majeure to its clients, signaling it may not meet supply commitments due to circumstances beyond its control. Iraq's three main southern oilfields have seen output plunge by roughly 70 percent, dropping from 4.3 million barrels per day before the war to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day now. Asian markets fell sharply on Monday as investors absorbed the shock: Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 7 percent, South Korea's Kospi plunged 7.8 percent, Taiwan's Taiex fell 5.8 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 3.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues across the region. Israel launched fresh strikes on targets in central Iran and Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut on Monday, as Iran fired another barrage of missiles toward Israel, with rocket trails visible above the coastal city of Netanya. In Bahrain, at least 32 people were wounded—four seriously—when Iranian drone strikes hit the town of Sitra, about five kilometers south of the capital. The injured included children: a two-month-old infant, two young boys, and a 17-year-old girl. Kuwait's National Guard shot down a drone early Monday at a protected site. Qatar's armed forces intercepted a missile attack. In Saudi Arabia, two people were killed and 12 injured when a projectile struck a residential building in Al-Kharj; the dead were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality. The United States has ordered non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, the first mandatory departure order since the war began. The Pentagon confirmed the death of a seventh American service member.
The human toll extends beyond the battlefield. The Pentagon is investigating a strike on a school in Iran that killed at least 168 children. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the investigation was ongoing and stopped short of confirming whether the United States carried out the attack, though he emphasized that American forces "never target civilians." Trump later told reporters he believed Iran itself was responsible. The ambiguity itself is a kind of wound.
In Australia, Iran's women's national football team faces an uncertain future after being knocked out of the Women's Asian Cup on Sunday night, losing 2–0 to the Philippines. As the players left Gold Coast Stadium in Queensland, protesters gathered around their team bus, shouting "save our girls." The team had stood silently during the Iranian national anthem before a match the previous Monday—a gesture many interpreted as quiet protest against the government, made just two days after the American and Israeli attacks began. State media in Iran had already labeled them "traitors." Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince, urged the Australian government to protect the players, warning they face "dire consequences" if they return home.
In Tehran itself, residents are divided about whether to stay or flee. One man told CNN that his family is fracturing under the pressure. His wife is considering leaving to stay with her parents after Israeli strikes on fuel depots on Saturday night—what he called the "heaviest bombardments since the start of the war." He wants to stay, he said, because he feels responsible for colleagues at work and because he believes protests could erupt again, as they did earlier this year. "I want to stay and see the death of everyone who was responsible for the crackdown of last uprising," he told the network. "I want to dance on the corpse of those who shot my sisters and brothers." At the same time, pro-government supporters are becoming more visible on the streets each night, holding gatherings similar to car rallies, waving flags and chanting slogans—what he described as a show of strength meant to reassure regime members and intimidate the opposition. The war has entered a new phase, and no one knows how long it will last.
Citas Notables
If he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long. We want to make sure that we don't have to go back every 10 years.— President Donald Trump, on Iran's new supreme leader
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve exists for moments exactly like this. When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so.— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that Mojtaba Khamenei is the supreme leader's son? Couldn't Iran have chosen someone else?
They could have, but they didn't. Choosing the son signals that the clerics want continuity—they're saying the system itself survives, even if the man at the top is gone. It's a bet on stability when everything is falling apart.
And the Americans and Israelis don't like that choice?
They see it as a threat. If the new leader is as committed to Iran's nuclear program and regional power as his father was, then nothing has changed from their perspective. Trump's comment—that the new leader won't last without American approval—that's a threat dressed as prediction.
What about the oil prices? Is that temporary, like the White House says?
No one knows. It depends on whether the war spreads, whether the Strait of Hormuz actually closes, whether Iraq's production stays crippled. The White House is trying to calm markets, but markets don't calm easily when there's real disruption. People are already paying more at the pump.
The women's football team—why is that story important in the middle of a war?
Because it shows what happens to ordinary people who dissent, even quietly. Those players stood silent during the anthem. Now they're trapped in Australia, unable to go home without facing punishment. It's the war's reach into civilian life.
What does Trump mean by "unconditional surrender"?
He means Iran has to give up. No negotiations, no terms set by Iran, no face-saving compromise. The United States decides what that looks like. It's a maximalist demand in the middle of a shooting war.
And if Iran doesn't surrender?
Then the fighting continues. Trump has said everything is on the table—ground troops, special forces, whatever it takes. The administration is already preparing contingency plans.