Trump: Iran War Could be Over 'Soon'   03/10 06:08

   U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the war against Iran could be 
short-lived, but he left open the possibility of an escalation in fighting if 
global oil supplies are disrupted by the Islamic Republic, which chose a new 
hard-line supreme leader.

   DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday 
that the war against Iran could be short-lived, but he left open the 
possibility of an escalation in fighting if global oil supplies are disrupted 
by the Islamic Republic, which chose a new hard-line supreme leader.

   Oil prices briefly shot to their highest level since 2022 a day after Iran 
selected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as Iran's 
supreme leader. Investors saw it as a signal that Iran was digging in 10 days 
into the war launched by the United States and Israel.

   But prices later fell and U.S. stocks rose on hopes that the war with Iran 
may not last much longer.

   "We took a little excursion" to the Middle East "to get rid of some evil. 
And, I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion," Trump told 
Republican lawmakers at his golf club near Miami.

   Hours later, Trump posted on social media: "If Iran does anything that stops 
the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United 
States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far."

   In an apparent response to Trump's remarks published in Iranian state media, 
a spokesperson for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naini, 
said "Iran will determine when the war ends."

   The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and 
sent fuel prices rising across the U.S. The fighting has also led foreigners to 
flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit 
military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and 
at least one school.

   Trump also had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to 
discuss the war and other issues. Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri 
Ushakov, said Putin "voiced a few ideas regarding a quick political and 
diplomatic settlement" of the conflict following his conversations with Gulf 
leaders and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

   Khamenei, a secretive 56-year-old cleric, is only the third supreme leader 
in the history of the Islamic Republic. He has close ties to the paramilitary 
Revolutionary Guard, which has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and 
Gulf Arab states since his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 
1989, was killed during the war's opening salvo.

   Multiple strikes shake Tehran

   Dozens of explosions were heard in Tehran in what was considered the 
heaviest air raid on the capital since the war started Feb. 28. Iranian media 
did not report on damages and casualties.

   Israel said Monday that it was carrying out "a wide-scale wave of strikes" 
on the Iranian city of Isfahan, as well as Tehran and in southern Iran. The 
Israeli military said it hit dozens of infrastructure sites, including the 
drone headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard.

   Meanwhile, Israel's military alerted the population throughout the day about 
incoming missiles from Iran. From Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah also fired 
rockets into Israel on Monday.

   Trump said the United States was nearing its goal to eliminate Iran's 
ballistic missile stockpile and its ability to produce and launch them. The 
administration has offered shifting rationales and timelines since the start of 
the conflict.

   He also talked about "building a new country," a comment that seemed to 
suggest the U.S. might be engaged in the building of a new Iran.

   Trump likes idea of another 'internal' candidate to lead Iran

   Thousands poured into a central square in the capital, Tehran, and other 
locations in a show of allegiance to the new supreme leader, waving flags and 
shouting phrases like "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

   The younger Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the war started, 
was long considered a potential successor -- even before the killing of his 
86-year-old father.

   Trump told reporters that he was "disappointed" that Mojtaba Khamenei was 
picked and that he liked "the idea" of a leader drawn from an "internal" group 
of candidates, saying that worked well with Venezuela.

   The younger Khamenei is seen as even less compromising than his late father. 
As supreme leader, he has the final say on all major policies, including 
Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

   Though Iran's key nuclear sites are in tatters after the U.S. bombed them 
during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, it still has highly enriched uranium 
that's a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose 
to do what his father never did -- build a nuclear bomb.

   Trump told reporters the war with Iran started because that country was 
working on a new site for developing material for nuclear weapons to replace 
one bombed last year by the U.S.

   Israel has already described Khamenei as a potential target. Trump said 
Monday it "would be inappropriate" to say whether he would be targeted.

   US market seesaws over uncertainty of war

   The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep 
early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran 
may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, the 
highest since 2022, back toward $90.

   Iran's attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped tankers from 
using the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world's oil is carried, 
and Iranian drones and missiles have targeted oil and gas infrastructure in 
major producers. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least 
seven mariners, according to the International Maritime Organization.

   Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to the office of the supreme leader, 
told CNN on Monday that Iran is prepared for a long war. He said he sees no 
"room for diplomacy anymore" unless economic pressure prompts other countries 
to intervene and stop the "aggression of Americans and Israelis against Iran."

   Turkey, meanwhile, said NATO defenses had intercepted a ballistic missile 
that entered the country's airspace for the second time since the war started.

   Arab states decry Iran's drone strikes

   Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following a drone attack on its massive 
Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the "biggest loser" if it continues 
to attack Arab states. The attacks continued Monday night with a dozen drones 
downed by Saudi Arabia.

   In the United Arab Emirates, home to the futuristic city of Dubai, 
authorities said two people were wounded by shrapnel from the interception of 
Iranian missiles over the capital, Abu Dhabi. The Emirati Defense Ministry said 
15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired at the country on Monday.

   Early Tuesday, the UAE said a drone attack targeted its consulate in the 
Kurdish region of Iraq, causing damage but no injuries. The statement from the 
foreign affairs ministry did not blame the attack on anyone but decried it as 
"a dangerous escalation and a threat to regional security and stability."

   Iran also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where the government said that 
a person was killed and others injured in an Iranian attack targeting a 
residential building in the capital, Manama.

   Several U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave.

   The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon 
and 11 in Israel, according to officials.

   A total of seven U.S. service members have been killed.

   Trump said Monday that family members of the soldiers told him during the 
transfer of their remains over the weekend in Dover, Delaware: "Make sure you 
win, sir."