🥇 Must Know
Iran names hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader
Iran's Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the Islamic Republic's new supreme leader, signalling that hardliners remain in control nine days into the US-Israeli war. Mojtaba, who is close to the Revolutionary Guards, was described by a senior cleric as breaking two of the institution's cardinal principles — nepotism and succession within a dynasty — yet the appointment passed with reported consensus. Trump said the new leader 'won't last long' without US approval; Iran's foreign minister rejected the comment as interference.
Why it matters: Appointing a figure who is both ideologically hardline and personally close to the IRGC removes the thin possibility that the succession crisis would produce a pragmatist willing to negotiate, likely locking in a confrontational posture toward the West precisely when the military and economy are most damaged and vulnerable.
How reporting varies:
- Straits Times (Neutral, analytical): Focuses on Mojtaba's inherited role — ruined economy and badly damaged military — and the constitutional irregularity of a son succeeding his father as a structural break with Islamic Republic norms.
- WSJ (Leans hawkish on Iran): Emphasises Mojtaba's closeness to the IRGC and frames appointment as a signal that Iran intends to fight to the end, with the Guards consolidating political authority.
- Al Jazeera (Critical of US-Israeli campaign): Leads with the internal contradiction — Iran's president issued an apology yet missiles continued hitting neighbours — framing the leadership question as revealing a split between political and military command.
Al Jazeera (center) · Daily Maverick (center-left) · Globe and Mail (center) · NYT World (center-left) [1, 2] · Reuters (center) · SCMP World (center) · Straits Times (center) [1, 2, 3, 4] · The Hindu (center) · WSJ World (center-right) [1, 2]
US and Israel continue strikes across Iran as civilian toll mounts
US forces continued airstrikes targeting missile launchers, air-defence sites, and military infrastructure across Iran on day nine of the war, while video released by Iranian state media appeared to show a US cruise missile striking a school compound — directly contradicting Trump's claim that Iran was responsible. The Pentagon confirmed the seventh US service member killed, from injuries sustained in an attack on a Saudi military base. At least 104 people were reported killed in a US strike on an Iranian warship the previous week, according to the Iranian army.
Why it matters: The school-compound footage, if verified, gives Iran and its supporters a potent propaganda tool to challenge the US account of the war and may complicate allied support at a moment when European governments are already publicly questioning the campaign's legality.
How reporting varies:
- NPR (Neutral, cautious on attribution): Reports video of cruise missile striking school compound as directly contradicting Trump's statements; notes it was released by Iranian state media.
- NYT (Balanced but led by official sourcing): Focuses on the breadth of US targeting — missile launchers, air-defence sites — and the US military official confirming a wide target array without flagging civilian concerns.
- WSJ (Strategic/realist framing): Frames the campaign through the lens of air-power limits: warplanes and missiles have not historically been sufficient to remove governments, raising questions about strategic endgame.
Al Jazeera (center) [1, 2] · NPR World (center-left) [1, 2] · NYT World (center-left) [1, 2] · Reuters (center) · WSJ World (center-right) [1, 2]
Oil surges past $100 a barrel as Iran war rattles global markets
Brent crude surged more than 25% to above $100 a barrel — its highest since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine — as tankers continued avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and no ceasefire appeared imminent. Asian stock markets fell sharply, with Japan's Nikkei dropping more than 7%, and airline shares were hit across the board. Democrats seized on the price spike as a midterm election issue; Trump called it 'a very small price to pay'.
Why it matters: Because the US is a net energy exporter, American consumers feel the pump-price pain while US producers benefit, creating a domestic political asymmetry that gives Trump less incentive to end the conflict quickly than the allies — Europe, Japan, India — who import most of their oil and bear disproportionate economic damage.
Nikkei Asia (center-right) · NPR World (center-left) · NYT World (center-left) [1, 2] · Rappler (center) [1, 2] · Reuters (center) [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] · The Guardian (center-left) · The Hindu (center)
🥈 Should Know
Gulf states take casualties as Iran strikes Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
Two people were killed and 12 injured in Saudi Arabia after a projectile — linked to Iranian IRGC targeting of radar systems at Al-Kharj, home to Prince Sultan air base — struck a residential building. Dozens were wounded in Bahrain, including a 17-year-old girl and a two-month-old baby. Bahrain's state oil company declared force majeure on shipments after Iran attacked its infrastructure; Kuwait also reported casualties.
Why it matters: Iran hitting civilian areas in Gulf states that host US bases means the war is already a regional conflict rather than a bilateral US-Iran exchange, drawing Gulf partners into the line of fire and testing whether they can stay on the US side without becoming full combatants.
Al Jazeera (center) · Reuters (center) [1, 2] · Straits Times (center) [1, 2] · The Hindu (center) [1, 2, 3]
Iran strikes on desalination plants put Gulf water supplies at risk
Bahrain accused Iran of damaging a desalination plant, raising alarm among analysts that water — not oil — may become the most acute shortage in the arid Gulf region. Several Gulf states depend on desalinated seawater for the majority of their fresh water. Iran threatened to target regional oil infrastructure if Israel continued striking its energy facilities, warning that oil could top $200 a barrel.
Why it matters: Desalination plants are harder to repair than pipelines and serve populations that have no alternative freshwater source, meaning sustained attacks could create a humanitarian crisis in US-allied Gulf states separate from and faster-moving than the economic oil shock.
SCMP World (center) · WSJ World (center-right)
G7 to discuss releasing emergency oil reserves as prices surge
G7 governments are reported to be in discussions about a joint release of emergency oil reserves in response to the price surge triggered by the Iran war, the Financial Times reported. Oil surged more than 25% on March 9, its largest single-day jump on record according to Reuters.
Why it matters: A coordinated strategic-reserve release would provide short-term price relief but depletes the buffer stocks held precisely for prolonged supply crises — if the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues for weeks, governments may exhaust that cushion before any resolution.
Financial Times (center-right) [1, 2] · Reuters (center) · Straits Times (center) · The Hindu (center)
Asian economies scramble as oil shock threatens inflation and growth
Indian stock markets slumped and the rupee and bonds came under pressure as Brent crude spiked to near a four-year high, with Indian refiners particularly hard hit. Japan told its national oil reserve sites to prepare for release. South Korea announced fuel price caps; Vietnam moved to remove fuel tariffs. 'Iranflation' became the term central bank watchers used for the inflationary wildcard now facing the Bank of Japan and other Asian central banks. China reported that Iran's war had cut its access to sulphur imports critical to spring planting-season fertiliser production.
Why it matters: Asian economies, which import the bulk of the world's seaborne oil and have little domestic production to cushion the blow, face a simultaneous inflation shock and growth slowdown at a moment when several were still recovering from post-pandemic structural weakness.
Nikkei Asia (center-right) · Reuters (center) [1, 2, 3, 4] · SCMP Asia (center) · SCMP China (center) · SCMP World (center)
Europe walks a difficult line as allies question Iran war's legality
European leaders are struggling to define their role in the US-Israeli war against Iran, with Switzerland's defence minister stating the attacks breach international law, and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper publicly disagreeing with Trump on the conflict. Prime Ministers Starmer and Trump held a call discussing military cooperation through the use of RAF bases. The Brookings Institution's Constanze Stelzenmüller described European leaders as calculating their responses carefully between the US and their own legal obligations.
Why it matters: European governments that publicly question the war's legality while quietly allowing use of their military bases face a credibility gap that domestic publics will exploit — and that Iran can use to argue international law is selectively applied.
BBC World (center) · NPR World (center-left) · Reuters (center) [1, 2] · SCMP World (center) · Straits Times (center) [1, 2] · The Guardian (center-left)
Macron visits Cyprus as France deploys warships to Mediterranean
French President Macron flew to Cyprus on Monday after France deployed warships to the Mediterranean following a drone strike, reportedly involving Iranian-made drones, on the RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus on March 2. Cyprus, the EU member state nearest to the Middle East, is weighing the strategic implications for its tourism sector and sovereignty. Protesters in Cyprus demonstrated under the slogan 'British Bases Out'.
Why it matters: The drone strike on a British base in an EU member state is the first direct military strike on EU territory linked to the Iran conflict, setting a precedent that could force the EU into a more active defence posture it has so far tried to avoid.
BBC World (center) · SCMP World (center) · Straits Times (center) · The Guardian (center-left)
Ukraine sends drone experts to Jordan; Zelensky seeks air defence missiles in return
Ukrainian President Zelensky told the New York Times that Ukraine had sent drone experts to protect US bases in Jordan, and said those experts were expected in the Middle East within a week. Zelensky said he is seeking US air defence missiles in exchange for the drone expertise, citing Ukraine's hard-won experience countering Iranian-made drones.
Why it matters: Ukraine's willingness to export its anti-drone expertise to the Middle East creates a direct military-technology link between the two conflicts, potentially accelerating weapons transfers that further deplete Western missile stockpiles — a concern already raised about US munitions needed for Taiwan.
NYT World (center-left) · Reuters (center) · Straits Times (center) · The Guardian (center-left)
Tehran residents describe catastrophe after oil depot bombings
Iranians in Tehran described smoke-filled streets, fears of toxic rain, and severe food scarcity after US and Israeli strikes hit the city's oil depots. An Iranian doctor who crossed into Turkey recounted treating civilians with war wounds, many of whom she said had been caught in bombing of residential areas.
Why it matters: The civilian account of Tehran's conditions — toxic smoke, food shortages, people unable to flee — suggests the humanitarian crisis inside Iran is accelerating faster than the international community's capacity to respond, particularly with Iran's borders under military pressure.
NPR World (center-left) · The Guardian (center-left)
Oman limits private jets as Gulf states' stable image cracks
Oman's Muscat International Airport asked private jet operators to avoid additional flights, prioritising government and commercial traffic, as the war disrupted regional aviation. A Guardian analysis noted that Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE — which had carefully projected images of stability and prosperity — are finding that image shattered by the Iran conflict and its spillover.
Why it matters: Gulf states built their economic models on projecting predictable security to attract foreign investment and tourism; the erosion of that image during a prolonged conflict could trigger capital flight and sovereign wealth fund withdrawals that outlast the military phase of the war.
Reuters (center) · Straits Times (center) · The Guardian (center-left)
South Korea caps fuel prices; Vietnam scraps tariffs to cushion oil shock
South Korea moved to impose fuel price caps to shield its economy from the energy shock triggered by the Iran war. Vietnam separately removed fuel tariffs amid supply disruption. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, saw its rupee and bond markets under pressure, with Brent crude spiking to near a four-year high.
Why it matters: Government price caps and tariff waivers transfer the cost of expensive oil from consumers to state budgets — sustainable for a few weeks but fiscally damaging if the Hormuz blockade persists, particularly in emerging markets already carrying post-pandemic debt loads.
Reuters (center) [1, 2, 3]
Germany's Greens beat Merz's CDU in Baden-Württemberg state election
Germany's Green Party took a narrow lead over Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU conservatives in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, in the first state election since Merz became chancellor. The result is an early warning for Merz's governing coalition as Germany faces multiple economic and security pressures simultaneously.
Why it matters: A CDU defeat in Baden-Württemberg — a prosperous, historically conservative state — so early in Merz's chancellorship signals that economic anxiety over the oil shock and war uncertainty may be transferring voter support away from the governing centre-right before it has had time to set its policy agenda.
Economist Europe (center-right) · Straits Times (center) · The Guardian (center-left)
Jailed Istanbul mayor Imamoglu goes to trial in sweeping corruption case
Istanbul's jailed Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu went on trial on Monday in a corruption case that could end his political career and remove the main electoral threat to President Erdogan ahead of Turkey's next elections. Imamoglu, speaking from prison, said the 'demand for change in Turkey cannot be stopped'. The case has drawn international criticism as an attack on Turkey's opposition.
Why it matters: If Imamoglu is convicted and barred from politics, Turkey will enter the next election cycle without its most popular opposition figure at a moment when the Iran war is reshaping regional alliances in Turkey's immediate neighbourhood.
Reuters (center) · SCMP World (center) · Straits Times (center)
Colombia elects a fragmented Congress ahead of May presidential race
Colombians voted Sunday in legislative elections, with President Petro's leftist ruling party and the main opposition party both heading toward the largest Congressional seat tallies, but with no bloc holding a majority, in a low-turnout election. The fragmented result means the next president, to be chosen in May, will need to form coalitions to pass legislation. The vote took place under high security alert against political violence, particularly in rural areas controlled by armed groups.
Why it matters: A Congress in which no bloc commands a majority gives armed groups and narco-linked political figures disproportionate leverage in coalition negotiations, sustaining the structural weakness in Colombian governance that has complicated US anti-drug cooperation.
Al Jazeera (center) · Reuters (center) · Straits Times (center) [1, 2] · The Hindu (center)
Taiwan invasion fears resurface as Iran war strains US missile stocks
A WSJ report examined how a single prediction by a US admiral six years ago — that China might invade Taiwan by 2027 — has shaped military strategy as the deadline approaches within months. Separately, Nikkei Asia reported that the Iran conflict is raising concerns over US missile stockpiles earmarked for Taiwan, with sustained Middle East strikes drawing down stocks needed for Pacific deterrence. The Philippines is pressing its case for a UN Security Council seat, seeking greater influence over the rules-based order governing sea lanes.
Why it matters: Missile stocks depleted in the Iran campaign take months or years to replenish, meaning the military deterrent underpinning Taiwan policy is being degraded in real time just as the 2027 window Beijing watchers have flagged is closing.
Nikkei Asia (center-right) · SCMP China (center) · WSJ World (center-right)
China's Wang Yi presses Europe to reject bloc politics and engage with Beijing
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged European leaders to abandon 'protectionist attic' politics and 'join the gym' of the Chinese market to build economic muscle. Wang Yi separately rejected any US-China G2 model of global co-leadership, describing China as 'an irreplaceable mainstay' during global upheaval, while warning Japan on Taiwan. China maintained that a Trump visit to Beijing — planned before the Iran war — could still proceed.
Why it matters: Beijing's simultaneous outreach to Europe and hardened stance on Taiwan reflects a strategy of splitting the Western coalition at the moment it is most preoccupied with the Middle East — offering trade cooperation to Europe while warning Japan not to use the crisis to upgrade Taiwan ties.
SCMP China (center) [1, 2, 3]
🥉 Also Notable
🌎 Americas
Trump vows to control Iran's new leader as US soldier death toll rises to seven — Al Jazeera
Trump says ending Iran war will be a 'mutual' decision with Netanyahu — Reuters
Pentagon confirms seventh US service member killed in Iran war — NYT World
State Department orders US diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia — NYT World
Explosive device thrown at anti-Islam protest outside NYC Mayor Mamdani's home — Al Jazeera
US military kills six in strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in Eastern Pacific — NPR World
Trump trade threat puts Canada's auto sector under pressure — Washington Post
Millions of Americans now eligible for Canadian citizenship by descent — CBC News
Canada Governor General warns Greenlanders not to dismiss Trump's territorial ambitions — CBC News
Haitians in Mexico face prolonged uncertainty as US cuts immigration funding — The Guardian
🌍 Europe
Pope Leo calls for dialogue and end to bombing amid Middle East violence — Reuters
Lebanese civilian repairs war-damaged home, then flees again as new strikes begin — Straits Times
Swiss voters reject plan to cut state broadcaster funding — Reuters
Ukraine and Netherlands discuss joint drone production as Zelensky stresses experience advantage — Straits Times
Serbia's last independent broadcasters face pressure after state telecom deal — Deutsche Welle
Belgium judge warns country risks becoming a narco-state — The Guardian
Russia intercepts 234 Ukrainian drones in nine hours — Straits Times
UK warns global trading system under 'unsustainable' pressure — Financial Times
Drones become a strategic investment theme in European venture capital — Financial Times
Greece seeks Italian frigate deal by April amid European rearmament drive — Straits Times
Spain grants amnesty to undocumented workers citing humanitarian and economic grounds — BBC World
UK's Farage misses Trump meeting as relationship between the two cools — NYT World
🌏 Asia-Pacific
Iran war deals fresh blow to BRICS bloc's credibility as UAE is attacked — Globe and Mail
Iraqi oil output collapses as Hormuz blockade cuts production — Reuters
Bangladesh shuts universities early to conserve power amid energy crisis — Reuters
Australia's new porn age-verification law takes effect; users turn to VPNs — BBC World
Philippines' Marcos pushes for UN Security Council seat — Rappler
Beijing signals optimism on finalising South China Sea 'golden rules' by year end — SCMP China
China's arms imports fall 72% in five years as domestic production surges — SCMP China
China's critical mineral dominance continues to disrupt US supply chains — SCMP China
Hong Kong fuel surcharges considered as pump prices rise on Iran war — SCMP Asia
Half-abandoned Japanese island sits at heart of China-Japan tensions — The Guardian
India allows Iranian ship to dock; foreign minister says it was 'the right thing to do' — Reuters
Iran soccer team eliminated from Women's Asian Cup faces uncertain return home — Globe and Mail
Nepal election results signal generational shift in politics — The Hindu
Former Apple Daily executive editor appeals 10-year Hong Kong national security sentence — SCMP Asia
China's consumer inflation hits three-year high on holiday spending surge — Reuters
Trump's China visit unlikely to yield breakthrough but aims to preserve stability — Reuters
🌍 Middle East & Africa
US considers special operation to seize Iran's uranium stockpile — Reuters
Israeli settler fatally shoots Palestinian man in occupied West Bank — Straits Times
Israeli strike kills six Palestinians in Gaza as Iran war shifts regional focus — Straits Times
Middle East Airlines keeps flying out of Beirut to the sound of gunfire — Globe and Mail
Syria's Kurds caution Iran's Kurds against aligning with US — Reuters
Guinea dissolves main opposition parties by decree — Al Jazeera
South Sudan army orders forced evacuation of Akobo as forces close on opposition — Al Jazeera
Trump says he ended a war in Africa; US sanctions say otherwise — Washington Post
Kenya flood death toll nearly doubles to 42 — Straits Times
West Africa's cocoa farmers face ruin even as chocolate prices rise — BBC World
🤖 Tech
Oracle reportedly to cut up to 30,000 jobs to fund AI data-centre expansion — Hacker News
Debate over AGI timelines intensifies as OpenAI's original charter goalposts shift — Hacker News
X investigates offensive posts made by xAI's Grok chatbot — Reuters
AI can now de-anonymise social media accounts, study finds — The Guardian
SpaceX's plan for a million satellites raises atmospheric and light-pollution concerns — CBC News
US customs searched a record number of electronic devices last year — CBC News
Google awards Sundar Pichai a $692 million pay package — Hacker News
ChatGPT linked to rise in reports of organised ritual abuse, UK experts say — The Guardian
European think tank urges EU to weaponise its market against China to avoid manufacturing collapse — SCMP China