The war between Israel and Iran enters its tenth day with a new supreme leader in Tehran after the death of Ali Khamenei, while the conflict begins to have global economic consequences and also sneaks into the Spanish political debate. This is how Carlos Alsina summarizes the main news of the day:
Khamenei’s succession and the new supreme leader
The first thing is still Iran. Already the tenth day of war and the first for Mojtaba Khamenei, second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader. He is 56 years old and, in addition to being a clergyman, he was a relevant politician within the environment of former president Mahmud Ahmadinejad, although their relationship ended up deteriorating.
Mojtaba Khamenei has been accused in the past of embezzlement of funds and various international media, including Bloombergclaim that he could have a hidden fortune of more than $100 million from the diversion of Iranian oil revenues.
In the attack that killed his father ten days ago, his mother, his wife, one of his children and one of his sisters also died. Israel also tried to assassinate him a few days ago, but he survived, which is why some sectors of the regime now present him as a “living martyr.”
With his appointment, the succession is consolidated within a theocratic and increasingly dynastic regime. Israel has already warned that the new supreme leader becomes a priority target of its attacks.
For his part, US President Donald Trump has assured that Mojtaba Khamenei “won’t last long” if he is not the one who supports him politically. Although, at the same time, he has left the door open to accepting him as an interlocutor if he ends up playing a role similar to that of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela.
Oil price rise
If in Venezuela Washington’s main interest has historically been oil, in the case of Iran the focus is on the control of enriched uranium. The future of the Iranian population or an eventual democratization of the country seem to remain in the background within this strategic logic.
Trump has acknowledged in statements to journalists during one of his trips on Air Force One that he does not rule out, at some point, deploying US special forces to obtain the enriched uranium that Iran possesses. His position, however, changes frequently: some days he rules out sending troops and others he raises it again.
In recent hours it has been the Israeli army that has intensified attacks against several Iranian oil infrastructures. Episodes of acid rain have been recorded in some areas of Tehran due to the pollution generated by the bombings.
Iran has denounced that this is a form of chemical warfare and has already promised retaliation. With Iranian airspace practically controlled by Israeli and American planes, this type of bombing is interpreted as a strategic warning, since for now the main oil producing areas or export terminals have not been attacked.
The conflict is also beginning to have economic consequences. Today the Eurogroup meets to analyze the impact of the war on the European economy and study possible measures to cushion the rise in fuel prices.
The rise in prices affects the European Union, but also the United States, where more and more citizens criticize Trump for the increase in the cost of energy that they are already noticing in their pockets. It is also worth remembering that this year mid-term elections are being held in the country.
In a conversation with journalists from ABC NewsTrump himself has acknowledged that the increase in fuel prices may have been “a small mistake.” However, he downplayed the issue, arguing that the United States has large strategic oil reserves.
Japan has already ordered the release of part of its reserves. In the case of Spain, the strategic reserves barely exceed the mandatory minimum and would allow consumption to be guaranteed for three or four months.
8M in Spain
Meanwhile, the war has also crept into the social debate in Spain. This year, March 8 fell on a Sunday, allowing many cities to hold feminist rallies at noon and record higher attendance than in previous years.
In many cities, the division between classic feminists and transfeminists was repeated, with two different marches. In both, one of the most repeated slogans was “no to war”, also chanted by several ministers in their public statements.
The protests focused more on rejection of the conflict than on the situation of Iranian women, who have been living under the theocratic regime for decades. Vice President Yolanda Díaz did express her solidarity, although she mainly recalled the situation in Iraq after the war that began twenty-three years ago.
Díaz maintained that, in her opinion, Iraqi women do not live better today than before that war and attributed this situation to the decisions taken then by the government of José María Aznar and the Popular Party.
Of course, on this occasion the vice president avoided repeating previous statements in which she had indicated that the burqa or the niqab could be considered expressions of religious freedom, an idea that was not supported in this year’s mobilizations either.
