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  "path": "/partner/putin-offers-unwavering-support-to-new-iran-supreme-leader",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-09T14:35:55.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday pledged “unwavering support” to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, appointed after his father was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes.\n\nPutin sent a message to the new leader reaffirming Moscow’s backing for Tehran as the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States continued to escalate across the Middle East.\n\n“I would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for Tehran and solidarity with our Iranian friends,” Putin said. He added that “Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner” to Iran.\n\n“At a time when Iran is confronting armed aggression, your tenure in this high position will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication,” Putin said in the message.\n\nIran’s Assembly of Experts, the country’s top clerical body, appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes earlier in the conflict, according to Iranian state media.\n\nThe announcement came as fighting entered its 10th day and the war sent shockwaves through global energy markets and regional economies.\n\nOil prices surged past $100 per barrel on Monday, the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, as Iran launched new missile barrages targeting Israel and energy infrastructure across the Gulf region.\n\nSaudi Arabia said it was battling drones targeting oil fields, while Bahrain’s state-owned energy company warned it may be unable to fulfill export contracts.\n\nFollowing strikes on Bahrain’s Al Ma’ameer oil facility that ignited a fire, the country’s energy company Bapco joined firms in Qatar and Kuwait in declaring force majeure, warning that circumstances beyond their control could affect exports.\n\nGlobal markets reacted sharply to the conflict.\n\nEuropean markets opened sharply lower and gas prices on the continent surged by about 30%, while Asian markets also fell.\n\nThe Japanese and South Korean stock markets closed down by more than 5%. In the Philippines, motorists lined up to fill their fuel tanks, while Vietnam prepared to scrap tariffs on fuel imports.\n\nFinance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations were scheduled to meet later Monday to discuss the crisis.\n\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron, the current chair of the G7, said ministers would discuss releasing strategic oil reserves to help stabilize energy prices and protect the global economy.\n\nIranian state media reported that the Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei leader despite what it called “the brutal aggression of the criminal America and the evil Zionist regime.”\n\nIran’s security chief Ali Larijani told the new leader that his appointment had “caused the hostile and warmongering enemies to despair.”\n\nExplosions continued to be reported across the region as the conflict intensified.\n\nAt least one Israeli was killed when shrapnel struck a building site, according to the Magen David Adom emergency service. The victim was described as a man approximately 40 years old.\n\nIn Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub, at least 10 explosions were heard after the military said missiles had been launched from Iran.\n\nThe conflict also spread into the Gulf and wider region.\n\nThe United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported new attacks, while Bahrain said strikes had targeted energy facilities.\n\nAuthorities in Qatar said they had arrested more than 300 people for sharing images online and what they described as misleading information about the conflict. Similar warnings and arrests were reported in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.\n\nMeanwhile, the United States signaled that it expects the conflict to continue.\n\nThe State Department ordered non-emergency personnel to leave Saudi Arabia days after a drone strike hit the U.S. Embassy.\n\nU.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the surge in oil prices, calling it a “small price to pay” for eliminating what he described as the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program.\n\nTrump also told the Times of Israel that any decision on ending hostilities would be made jointly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.\n\n“I think it's mutual... a little bit. We've been talking. I'll make a decision at the right time, but everything's going to be taken into account,” Trump said.\n\nThe fighting also intensified in Lebanon.\n\nHezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, said it was engaging Israeli forces who had landed in eastern Lebanon by helicopter from across the Syrian border.\n\nIsrael also carried out strikes on southern districts of Beirut after warning it would target branches of Al-Qard al-Hassan, a financial institution linked to Hezbollah.\n\nLebanon was drawn into the war last week after Hezbollah attacked Israel following the killing of the elder Khamenei.",
  "title": "Putin offers 'unwavering support' to new Iran supreme leader"
}