- China on new leader -

China said it opposes any targeting of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, after the Israeli military threatened to target any successor to his slain father, Ali Khamenei.

The younger Khamenei's appointment was purely an internal matter, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press conference.

- European gas spikes -

European gas prices soared as much as 30 percent. The Dutch TTF natural gas contract, considered the European benchmark, jumped to 69.50 euros ($80), before paring gains slightly.

- Asia stocks tumble -

Japan's Nikkei index of stocks closed down more than five percent at 52,728.72 points and South Korea's Kospi by nearly six percent at 5,251.87 points, on the back of the turmoil in the Middle East.

- Bahrain oil force majeure -

An Iranian strike targeting Bahrain's sprawling Al Ma'ameer oil facility caused a fire at the complex along with material damage, state media said.

After waves of Iranian strikes targeted the country's energy installations, Bahrain's state-owned Bapco energy company declared force majeure -- the latest Gulf producer to activate the legal clause.

- Saudi intercepts drone attack -

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had thwarted a drone attack targeting the Shaybah oil field in the kingdom's east, near the Emirati border, while the foreign ministry condemned Iran's retaliatory strikes as "reprehensible".

- HRW: Israel used white phosphorus -

Human Rights Watch accused Israel of "unlawfully" using white phosphorus over residential parts of the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor last week.

White phosphorus, a substance that ignites on contact with oxygen, can be used as an incendiary weapon and can cause fires, horrific burns, respiratory damage, organ failure and death.

- 32 injured in Bahrain -

Bahrain's health ministry said that an Iranian drone attack on the island of Sitra overnight wounded 32 civilians, all of them Bahraini citizens.

- Israel, Iran trade fire -

Iran fired its first missiles towards Israel after the appointment of the new supreme leader, state broadcaster IRIB said, with Israeli medics reporting one woman wounded.

The Israeli military said it launched a new wave of strikes targeting "regime infrastructure", including internal security command centres and missile launch sites, in central Iran.

- New Gulf attacks -

Several explosions were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, AFP journalists said, as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait all reported new attacks.

- Trump says ending war 'mutual' decision with Israel -

US President Donald Trump told news website the Times of Israel that ending the war would be a "mutual" decision taken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that Washington will have the final say.

- Khamenei son named successor -

Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, was selected by the country's Assembly of Experts to succeed his father.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards quickly pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader, while top security official Ali Larijani called Khamenei's election "completely legal".

Earlier, Trump had told ABC News that if the next leader "doesn't get approval from us he's not going to last long".

- East Lebanon fighting, Beirut explosion -

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said it was engaging Israeli forces who landed in eastern Lebanon overnight by helicopter across the Syrian border.

Meanwhile Israel's military said it struck Lebanese capital Beirut early Monday, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

- US orders embassy staff to leave Saudi -

The US State Department said it had ordered "non-emergency US government employees and US government employee family members to leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks".

- Crude prices soar above $100 -

Both crude benchmark prices, the WTI and Brent, surged more than 30 percent, after already soaring above $100 a barrel amid fears of prolonged supply disruptions due to the war.

Trump dismissed the spike on social media, saying it is "a very small price to pay" to remove Iran's nuclear threat.

burs/sbk/yad