Regional War Escalates: Iran Strikes US Bases as Oil Markets Panic

Unprecedented Regional Escalation

Following the assassination of Ali Khamenei and the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader, the 10-day war between Iran, Israel, and the United States has violently expanded. According to DW Persian, which maintains a Western-aligned editorial stance, Iran launched its first wave of missiles under its new leadership, targeting central and northern Israel. Simultaneously, the Israeli military continued striking ballistic missile factories and security facilities in central Iran associated with the suppression of the people.

Meanwhile, the opposition outlet Iran International framed the escalation as the culmination of the destructive policies of the 47-year ideological regime, noting that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic have now dragged Iran's neighbors into a war that threatens the regime's survival following the elimination of the killed leader.

Broad Iranian Retaliation Against US and Israeli Assets

The hardline and militant کانال اخبار سپاه پاسداران 🏴 (IRGC News Channel) celebrated the counter-offensive, proudly using the hashtag #Allah_Akbar to announce drone and missile strikes on US logistics bases near Baghdad and Erbil airports, as well as strikes on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Isa Air Base in Bahrain. Sirens sounded across Haifa, the Galilee, and Gulf states. Pro-government channels, including حامیان پزشکیان, highlighted a malfunction in the US Patriot air defense system, reporting that an interceptor missile crashed into a residential village in Bahrain, severely injuring several civilians due to Washington's deployment of systems in civilian areas.

US-Israel Diplomatic Rift and Domestic Fallout

Inside Iran, state media such as خبرگزاری ایرنا condemned the ongoing American-Zionist attacks. IRNA emphasized that the American-Zionist airstrikes damaged civilian property and the historical Falak-ol-Aflak Castle in Khorramabad. The head of Iran's Department of Environment accused the two warmongering governments of ecocide due to the massive bombing of oil depots in Tehran and Alborz, which blanketed the capital in toxic smoke, as reported by آخرین خبر (link).

However, Israel's targeting of roughly 30 Iranian fuel depots has sparked the first major rift between Washington and Jerusalem since the war began. US officials warned that targeting civilian-use energy infrastructure was a massive overstep that could rally domestic Iranian support for the regime and trigger catastrophic oil price hikes. DW Persian noted that US Energy Secretary Chris Wright explicitly distanced Washington from these actions, stating the US has no intention of attacking Iranian oil facilities.

Global Economic Shockwaves

The economic ramifications of the war are staggering. العربیه فارسی reports that the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz—the world's vital energy artery—has caused aviation fuel in Singapore to hit a record $225 per barrel. Pro-government channels widely circulated a Wall Street Journal prediction that oil could reach an inflation-adjusted record of $215 per barrel if the disruption continues.

In the US, the political fallout is escalating. Chuck Schumer demanded President Trump release Strategic Petroleum Reserves to combat a 43-cent surge in gas prices, a move Trump previously dismissed. According to آخرین خبر, Democratic lawmakers slammed Trump's reckless war with Iran for squandering billions of tax dollars, citing a New York Times report that the first week of the war cost the US approximately $6 billion, mostly on missile interceptors. Trump, responding on Fox News, defended the fuel spikes as a very small price for global peace, claiming the US had sunk all Iranian ships and destroyed 80% of their missile launchers, famously urging commercial tankers to show courage and cross the Strait of Hormuz.