Shortly after US President, Donald Trump declared that the US-Israel war on Iran could end “very soon,” oil prices at the international market tumbled immediately from the four-year highs they hit on Sunday.
The development has been an extraordinary 24 hours in global markets as the Brent crude at the international benchmark, surged beyond $100 per barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, thereby triggering stark sell-offs across leading Asian and European stock indices.
This was as the Wall Street also started the day under pressure in New York.
Trump, who has been paying close attention to market movements, said during an interview with CBS News, that the war on Iran is “very complete, pretty much”.
The Brent crude, which climbed as high as $119.50 per barrel on Sunday, fell back sharply to $98.96, while on Wall Street, the S&P 500 clawed out of the red to finish the day higher.
As of Monday, March 9, 2026, a litre of petrol in most parts of Abuja, the nation’s capital, sold for N1100.
It however, remains to be seen if there will be a slash in price per litre of petrol in light of current international price development.
The instability in the global oil market came as Iranian politicians and institutions have pledged loyalty to the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, wife, son and mother were killed at the start of the US-Israeli air onslaught.
“We will obey the Commander-in-Chief until the last drop of our blood,” a Defence Council statement said.
A report by Reuters however, indicated that Iranians reached by phone were divided over the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei with supporters of the authorities hailing the choice as a declaration of defiance while opponents expressed fear that 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.
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.
This was as a resident of Tehran in the east of the capital, said they had lost electricity following a loud sound as a result of “several explosions, one after another.”
“The place they hit has caught fire,” she said, adding that there were several jets in the air.
