Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March

Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March
Ships sit anchored in Muscat, Oman, on March 9, 2026, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran.
Reuters

Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country. 

Mojtaba Khamenei named Iran’s new Supreme Leader

The son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was announced as the late Ali Khamenei’s successor to Iran's highest ranking political and religious post. The appointment of Khamenei comes just over a week after his father, the former Supreme Leader, was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. 

Photos taken by AnewZ's Touraj Shiralilou show people gathering in the streets of the Iranian captial as Mojtaba Khamenei was sworn in as Supreme Leader.

Touraj Shiralilou
Oil climbs past $119 a barrel 

As oil prices surged due to ongoing fighting in Iran and the Middle East, other countries started to respond to the resulting rising fuel prices. Bahrain declared a ‘force majeure,’ freeing it of any contractual obligations to trade partners, after its refinery was bombed. 

In Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to lift sanctions on Russian energy and announced a cap on fuel prices. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was willing to sell energy to European customers, provided it was free of political pressure. 

Missile fired from Iran towards Türkiye neutralised 

The Turkish Defence Ministry said a ballistic missile fired from Iran had been destroyed by NATO air missile defence systems over the city of Gaziantep in south-central Türkiye. Ankara responded by summoning Iran's ambassador, according to sources from Türkiye's Foreign Ministry. 

Earlier, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Iran continued to take “wrong and provocative” steps.

It is the second time that NATO defence systems have destroyed a missile from Iran over Türkiye since conflict in the Middle East broke out on February 28.

Trump offers asylum to Iran’s women’s national football team 

Players from the side stood in silence during the playing of the country's national anthem, in their match against South Korea in Australia on March 2. The decision was criticised on Iranian state TV, with one commentator calling for them to be punished. 

In a post on social media, U.S. President Donald Trump said it would be a “terrible humanitarian mistake” if the Australian government allowed them to be sent back to Iran and called on the country to give them asylum. 

Travel disruption continues 

Air France announced it was extending the suspension of flights to and from the Middle East due to the security situation in the region. The airline said that it would maintain its suspension of flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until March 12, and to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 13.

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