Iran war could be over soon, but oil disruption would trigger harsher US strikes: Trump

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the war against Iran could be shortlived 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 hardline supreme leaderOil prices briefly shot to their highest level since 2022 a day after Iran selected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as Irans supreme leader Investors saw it as a signal that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and IsraelBut prices later fell and US 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 will see it is going to be a shortterm excursion Trump told Republican lawmakers at his golf club near MiamiHours 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 Trumps remarks published in Iranian state media a spokesperson for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran will determine when the war endsThe war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and sent fuel prices rising across the US 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 schoolTrump also had a call on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war and other issues Putins 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 PezeshkianKhamenei a secretive 56yearold 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 wars opening salvoMultiple strikes shake TehranDozens of explosions were heard in Tehran in what was considered the heaviest air raid on the capital since the war started on February 28 Iranian media did not report on damages and casualtiesIsrael said on Monday that it was carrying out a widescale 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 GuardMeanwhile Israels military alerted the population throughout the day about incoming missiles from Iran From Lebanon Iranbacked Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on MondayTrump said the United States was nearing its goal to eliminate Irans ballisticmissile 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 US might be engaged in the building of a new IranTrump likes idea of another internal candidate to lead IranThousands 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 86yearold fatherTrump 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 Tehrans disputed nuclear programmeThough Irans key nuclear sites are in tatters after the US bombed them during the 12day IsraelIran war in June it still has highlyenriched uranium that is a technical step away from weaponsgrade 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 US Israel has already described Khamenei as a potential target Trump said on Monday it would be inappropriate to say whether he would be targetedUS market seesaws over uncertainty of warThe US 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 USD 120 per barrel the highest since 2022 back toward USD 90Irans attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane through which a fifth of the worlds 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 OrganisationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever