As Operation Epic Fury, led by the US and Israel, enters its tenth day, Iran has appointed a new Supreme Leader. State media reports that Mojtaba Khamenei will succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at his compound in Tehran during the initial US and Israeli strikes. Israel has already issued a warning, stating that any successor will be targeted. Meanwhile, in the UAE, Iranian strikes continued to target Abu Dhabi yesterday, with projectiles being intercepted.
Since February 28th, a sustained air campaign led by a US and Israeli coalition has focused on dismantling Iranian missile capabilities and key leadership infrastructure. Iran has responded with waves of strikes against regional targets, including Gulf nations, significantly deepening the crisis across West Asia. In Tehran, Israeli strikes resumed after nightfall, with the Iranian capital choked by smoke following earlier attacks on its energy infrastructure.
The US military urged Iranian civilians to remain indoors, claiming that Tehran has been launching drones and missiles from populated areas, making those locations potential targets. At sea, the situation remains critical. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively impassable for most commercial shipping. While no formal closure has been decreed, the risk has driven an eighty percent drop in vessel traffic. Major shipping lines have suspended transits as war-risk insurance premiums surge, forcing global logistics networks to urgently seek alternative routes around the volatile waterway.
