By Parisa Hafezi and Maayan Lubell

DUBAI/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Iran on Monday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.

Mojtaba, a cleric with influence inside Iran's security forces and vast business networks under his father, had been viewed as a frontrunner in the lead-up to Sunday's vote by the Assembly of Experts, a body of 88 clerics tasked with choosing Ali Khamenei's successor.

"By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts, appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third Leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the Assembly said in a statement issued just after midnight Tehran time.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on naming the new supreme leader, said it is the manifestation of Iran's will to strengthen national unity.

The position gives Mojtaba the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the announcement of Iran's new supreme leader.

Mojtaba’s appointment will likely draw the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, who said on Sunday that Washington should have a say in the selection. "If he doesn't get approval from us, he's not going to last long," he told ABC News. Israel, ahead of the announcement, threatened to target whoever was chosen.

Mojtaba's father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was killed in one of the first strikes launched against Iran more than a week ago.

Washington on Sunday ordered the departure of non-emergency employees at its embassy in Saudi Arabia, the latest drawdown of U.S. diplomats as Iran has struck U.S. facilities in the region.

The U.S. military reported a seventh American has died from wounds sustained during Iran's initial counter-attack a week ago, a day after Trump presided over the return to the United States of the remains of the six others killed.

The U.S.-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's U.N. ambassador.

OIL OVER $100 A BARREL

The expanding war has severely impacted the oil trade and surging prices sparked a fall in share futures in Asia on Monday, amid fears of rising living costs. The dollar rose sharply against the euro and the yen.

U.S. crude futures rose more than 20% in early trade on Monday, hitting their highest since July 2022, amid fears of tighter supply and prolonged disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent jumped 17% to $108.73 a barrel, having already soared 28% last week.

On Wall Street, S&P 500 futures ESc1 shed 1.6%, while Nasdaq futures NQc1 dived 1.7%.

Trump, in a social media post, said oil prices "will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over," and said the price hike was "a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace."

DEFIANCE FROM TEHRAN

Iranian state media said the leadership of Iran's armed forces had pledged allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement they are ready to follow the new supreme leader.

The Assembly of Experts met on Sunday to elect a new supreme leader despite threats that the body would be targeted, Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, said on state TV after the announcement.

Mojtaba Khamenei could lead the country under the current sensitive conditions, Larijani said, calling for unity around the new leader.

The announcement came after Tehran signaled defiance, despite Trump's call for an "unconditional surrender." Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker, said earlier that Tehran was not seeking a ceasefire.

Iran has launched strikes across the region in retaliation against U.S. and Israeli attacks. The U.S. State Department said on Sunday it had ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks, days after the embassy in the Saudi capital was damaged in a drone attack blamed on Iran.

Early on Sunday, the Saudi Defence Ministry said that it had shot down a drone that attempted to target the Diplomatic Quarter, a calm tree-lined neighbourhood on the city's western edge that hosts most foreign missions including the U.S. embassy.

The U.S. has already raised its warning level for Saudi Arabia and allowed some personnel to leave the country, and has ordered the departure of staff at embassies in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain since the outbreak of the war.

Israel continued to target senior Iranian figures, including Abolqasem Babaian, the recently appointed head of the military office of the supreme leader, saying he was killed in a Saturday strike.

'DANGEROUS NEW PHASE'

As fighting escalated on Sunday, day nine of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, thick black smoke hung over Tehran, residents said, after strikes on oil storage facilities had lit up the night sky with plumes of orange flame.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the large-scale attack marked a "dangerous new phase" of the conflict and amounted to a war crime.

"By targeting fuel depots, the aggressors are releasing hazardous materials and toxic substances into the air," he wrote on X.

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters the depots were used to fuel Iran's war effort, including producing or storing propellant for ballistic missiles. "They are a legal military target," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would press on with the assault and strike Iran's rulers "without mercy".

"We have an organised plan with many surprises to destabilise the regime and enable change," he said in a video statement.

Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he was not seeking negotiations to end the conflict, which has driven up global energy prices, disrupted business and snarled air travel.

"At some point, I don't think there will be anybody left maybe to say, 'We surrender'," he said.

Posted by: AAngeles/NET25 News