Trump says Iran war will end soon, ‘disappointed’ in election of supreme leader – National
US President Donald Trump on Monday predicted that the war in the Middle East could end soon, as Iran’s hardliners made a show of loyalty to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a sign that he was not ready to back down anytime soon.
The conflicting signals sent markets on a rollercoaster ride, with oil prices rising and stock markets tumbling before turning in the opposite direction after Trump’s comments and reports of possible easing of sanctions on Russian energy.
Khamenei, 56, a Shi’ite cleric with a powerful background in security and its big business empire, has been declared unacceptable by Trump, who wants Iran’s unconditional surrender.
Trump said the war would continue until Iran was “totally defeated,” but predicted it would end soon.
“It’s going to be over quickly,” he told Republican lawmakers. “We have won in many ways, but we have not won enough.”
Trump did not, however, explain exactly what victory in the war would look like.
He later told a separate press conference that the war would end “soon” but rejected suggestions it could end as soon as this week.
Trump added that he was “disappointed” in the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader.
“We think it will lead to the same problem for the country,” he said.
Iranian media showed crowds of people in several cities rallying behind the new leader, waving Iranian flags and holding portraits of his father Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader who was killed by an Israeli strike on the first day of the war.
In Isfahan, state TV reported the sound of nearby explosions from plane crashes as worshipers gathered in the historic Imam Square, chanting “God is Greatest” under a stage with portraits of Ali and Mojtaba Khamenei.
In another sign of defiance, Iran’s military said it would increase its missile strikes.
MEETINGS OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM BEHIND THE NEW LEADER
Politicians and institutions have issued pledges of loyalty to the new supreme leader, whose wife, son and mother were also killed in the early US-Israeli airstrikes, according to Iranian state media.
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“We will obey the police commander until the last drop of our blood,” the defense council said in a statement.
Iranians reached by telephone were divided, with supporters of the authorities hailing the election as a declaration of defiance and opponents fearing it would dash their hopes for a revolution.
“I am very happy that he is our new leader. It was a slap in the face to our enemies who thought that the system would collapse with the killing of his father. The path of our late leader will continue,” said university student Zahra Mirbagheri, 21, from Tehran.
Many Iranians initially celebrated the death of the elder Khamenei, weeks after security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters in the worst domestic violence since Iran’s 1979 revolution. But since there has been little sign of anti-government activity, activists are afraid to take to the streets while Iran is under attack.
“The Guards (elite Revolutionary) and the system are still strong. They have tens of thousands of troops ready to fight to keep this regime in place. We, the people, have nothing,” said Babak, 34, a businessman in the central city of Arak who asked to keep his family name confidential.
Israel says its war aim is to overthrow Iran’s system of clerical rule. US officials say Washington’s goal is to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear program, but Trump has said the war can only end with a law-abiding Iranian government.
Israel has said it will kill anyone who succeeds the elder Khamenei unless Iran ends its hostile policies.
OIL CONTINUES, THEN RETURNS
The war has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, leaving tankers immobile for more than a week and forcing producers to halt pumping as storage fills up.
Brent crude futures jumped nearly 7% to settle at their highest price since 2022 after rising 29% during the session, as Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members cut supplies. But prices drop in post-paid trading.
Gasoline prices have some political influence in the United States, where voters cite rising costs as a major concern ahead of the mid-term elections in November, where Trump’s Republicans will try to control Congress.
After speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said the United States would lift some oil-related sanctions to ease the shortage. According to multiple sources, that could mean further easing of sanctions on Russian oil, which could complicate efforts to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
Other options include possible withdrawal of oil from strategic reserves or limiting US exports, the sources said.
Tehran was engulfed in black smoke after an oil refinery was hit, the latest in a series of strikes on Iran’s domestic power supply. The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, warned of the danger of fire contaminating food, water and air.
Turkey said Monday that NATO air defenses shot down a missile fired from Iran into Turkish airspace, the second such incident in the conflict. Iran did not immediately comment on the report.
Turkey, Iran’s neighbor and NATO’s second-largest military, warned Tehran on Saturday against further attacks, but did not suggest it wanted to formally call on the bloc’s members for more protection.
Israel’s military said it had launched a new offensive in central Iran and attacked the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where Israel expanded its offensive after Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters fired across the border.
The US-Israeli attack killed at least 1,332 Iranian citizens and injured thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador. Lebanon has reported that more than 400 people have been killed there, and nearly 700,000 people have fled their homes.
In Israel, ambulance crews said one man died of wounds from an explosion at a construction site near Tel Aviv’s international airport, raising the death toll from Iran’s strikes to 11.
