Iran has launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries while more than a week of heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment continues. Iranian state TV announced early Monday that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has been named supreme leader in defiance of threats by U.S. President Donald Trump.
1. Khamenei, who is seen as even more hard-line than his father, will now be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision about Tehran’s nuclear program. The appointment marks a new sign of defiance by Iran’s leadership. 2. Oil prices surged on Monday, leading to more worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged as much as 7% in early Monday trading, while other Asian markets also tumbled. 3. A 26-year-old Army staff sergeant from Kentucky was identified as the seventh U.S. service member killed during the Iran war, after being wounded on a base in Saudi Arabia on March 1, the Pentagon said. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed the same day at a Kuwaiti port. 4. New footage has raised the likelihood that the U.S. military struck an Iranian elementary school where a blast killed at least 165 people, mostly children. 5. The death toll continues to rise: The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
Official says at least 7 mariners have been killed around the Strait of Hormuz
The head of the International Maritime Organization says they were killed in “recent” attacks on merchant vessels. Arsenio Dominguez spoke earlier Monday and said several other mariners had been injured, “some of them gravely.”
He did not say who was behind the attacks and urged shipping companies to use “maximum caution” in the region. He said all parties must respect the freedom of navigation.
Tom Brady and the Fanatics Flag Football Classic switch from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles
The venue swap for the March 21 inaugural competition featuring numerous NFL players and coaches comes amid the Iran war and travel advisories.
It was slated to be held at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, but instead will relocate to BMO Stadium, which will be the site where flag football makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games.
Macron proposes a multinational mission to escort tankers once the war stops
The French president said he started discussing a French-led initiative that will involve European and non-European nations helping to escort oil and gas tankers with the aim of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz off Iran “as soon as possible after the most intense phase of the conflict is over.”
Source: WPLG
