Iranian state television offered no explanation of why Khamenei, 56, did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessments suggest he was wounded in the war, likely in the Feb. 28 Israeli strike that killed his father, the 86-year-old late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked back over $100 as Iranian strikes have hit ships and the American-Israeli war with Iran showed no signs of slowing. U.S. President Donald Trump has meanwhile promised to “finish the job,” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.”
Thursday's major developments include Iran's attacks against commercial ships around the Strait of Hormuz and Iraq's port of Basra, escalating its defense strategy of pressuring the U.S. by squeezing the oil-rich Gulf region to threaten global economic stability.
The Israeli military also is striking Iran and attacking Iran's militant ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
