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Mojtaba Khamenei’s Rise Sparks Market Turmoil as Hardliners Mobilize

People attend a gathering to support Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 9, 2026.  Iran’s hardline factions mounted a powerful show of support for newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei , rallying across Tehran in a display that signaled a tightening of conservative control and diminished hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East.  The demonstrations, marked by mass gatherings and imagery linking Mojtaba to his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, underscored the regime’s consolidation at a moment of heightened regional conflict.  Analysts warn that the hardliners’ unified backing suggests Iran is unlikely to soften its stance amid ongoing tensions with the U.S. and Israel. Global markets reacted sharply. Fears that prolonged instability could further disrupt energy supplies sent oil prices soaring and triggered steep declines in major stock indices. With one of the most significan...

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China Urges Dialogue Over Trump's Tariff, Avoids Immediate Escalation


Beijing has sharply denounced the Trump administration’s imposition of a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, calling the measure a breach of international trade rules that undermines the global economic order. While the Chinese finance and commerce ministries confirmed plans to challenge the tariff at the World Trade Organization and hinted at taking "countermeasures" to protect national interests, they stopped short of launching an immediate retaliatory strike.

In its measured response, China's foreign ministry underscored that the issue of fentanyl—the potent opioid cited by Washington as justification for the tariff—is fundamentally an American problem. Officials stressed that extensive cooperation in anti-narcotics efforts has already been in place between the two nations, implying that the tariff would not spur a hasty escalation. Instead, Beijing expressed a willingness to engage in frank dialogue with U.S. counterparts in hopes of resolving the dispute through negotiations rather than further confrontation.


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