*Prices In Nigeria Stable From Last Hike
*Iranian Leaders Pledge Loyalty To New Supreme Leader
Oil prices have tumbled back from the four-year highs they hit yesterday after US President Donald Trump suggested the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon.”
It has been an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets.
This time yesterday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged beyond $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – triggering stark sell-offs across leading Asian and European stock indices. Wall Street also started the day under pressure in New York.
Then Trump, who pays close attention to market movements, started talking.
The war on Iran as “very complete, pretty much”, the President claimed in an interview with CBS News.
Brent crude, which climbed as high as $119.50 per barrel yesterday, fell back sharply to settle at $98.96. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 clawed out of the red to finish the day higher.
As of yesterday, a litre of petrol in parts of Abuja, the Nigeria capital, sold for N1100.
It remains to be seen if there will be a slash in price, in light of current international price development.
Iranian Leaders Pledge Loyalty To New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameinei
The instability in the global oil market came as Iranian politicians and institutions have issued pledges of loyalty to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, wife, son and mother died at the start of the US-Israeli air onslaught, according to Iranian state media.
“We will obey the Commander-in-Chief until the last drop of our blood,” a Defence Council statement said.
Iranians Divided
But Reuters is reporting that Iranians reached by phone were divided over his appointment, with supporters of the authorities hailing the choice as a declaration of defiance and opponents fearful it would dash their hopes for change.
Many Iranians had initially celebrated the death of Khamenei’s father and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, weeks after his security forces killed tens of thousands of anti-government protesters.
But there has since been little sign of anti-government activity, with activists fearful of taking to the streets while Iran is under attack.
“The [Revolutionary] Guards and the system are still powerful,” said Babak, 34, a businessperson in the central city of Arak who asked to keep his family name confidential for fear of repression or even death.
Israel Launches More Attacks On Iran
As the Israeli military announced it had launched a broad wave of attacks in Tehran, two residents told the Guardian UK that they had been under heavy bombardment and heard back-to-back explosions in the past half hour, as of press time.
One Tehran resident in the east of the capital said they had lost electricity and there was a loud sound followed by “several explosions, one after another.”
“The place they hit has caught fire,” she said, adding that there were several jets in the air.
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