LIVE Trump ‘not happy’ with Kahmenei’s son as Iran new Supreme Leader

US President Donald Trump has told Fox News he is ‘not happy’ about Iran’s decision to select Mojtaba Khamenei as its new Supreme Leader.

Khamenei has previously been branded ‘unacceptable’ by Trump who last week made his feelings clear about the Ayatollah’s son.

Trump said somewhat sarcastically that ‘at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like’ to replace the Ayatollah.

The president has said he would personally select a new leader and Khamenei’s son was ‘unlikely’ and ‘unacceptable’.

Khamenei, excluded from a list of three senior clerics his father reportedly identified last year, was on Sunday announced as the Ayatollah’s successor after being appointed by the regime’s 88-person assembly.

The leader has strong links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts ‘under pressure from the Revolutionary Guards’, according to Iranian media.

The US-Israel war with Iran has entered its tenth day with mayhem continuing across the Middle East since the fighting began last month.

If you’re just joining us, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a plan to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help oil and gas supplies flow through the passage once again

The US Navy has reportedly attacked an Iranian warship and two other vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, oil prices are surging worldwide as global markets slid today and Donald Trump has declared he and Benjamin Netanyahu will make a ‘mutual’ decision on when to end the war.

Here are the key developments on Monday afternoon.

• France has announced plans to deploy eight warships to the Middle East in a ‘purely defensive’ mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
• An Iranian warship and two other vessels have reportedly been attacked by the US Navy during airstrikes on the port city of Bandar Abbas
• NATO have shot down a second Iranian missile in Turkish airspace
• Oil prices rise to above $100 a barrel for first time in four years as global markets slid at the start of trading
• Donald Trump says he and Benjamin Netanyahu will make ‘mutual’ decision on when to end Iran war
• Vladimir Putin offers ‘unwavering support’ to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
• Bahrain’s only oil refinery has been struck by an Iranian missile as Tehran targets energy installations across the Gulf
• The UAE confirmed two members of its armed forces were killed in a helicopter crash when the aircraft malfunctioned during the defence against Iranian drones
• Pete Hegseth, the US Defense Secretary, last night guaranteed Iran will ‘surrender’ and President Donald Trump will set the terms of their defeat
• 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
• Iranian state television has reported Khamenei is ‘wounded’ but did not elaborate on how the injuries were caused
• The US has identified the seventh solider killed during Operation Epic Fury

Donald Trump told NBC News Iran made a ‘big mistake’ selecting Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader.

‘I think they made a big mistake,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if it’s going to last. I think they made a mistake.’

Donald Trump said it is too soon to discuss seizing Iran’s oil, but compared the situation to Venezuela.

‘Certainly people have talked about it,’ he told NBC News on Monday.

‘You look at Venezuela. People have thought about it, but it’s too soon to talk about that.’

Kamal Kharazi, Iranian foreign policy adviser to the office of the Supreme Leader, told CNN on Monday that the government is prepared for a long war with the US and said the war would only end through economic pain.

‘I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore. Because Donald Trump had been deceiving others and not keeping with his promises, and we experienced this in two times of negotiations – that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us,’ Kharazi said.

‘There’s no room unless the economic pressure would be built up to the extent that other countries would intervene to guarantee (the) termination of aggression of Americans and Israelis against Iran,’ he continued.

Kharazi signaled that Iran is willing to continue to attack Gulf countries in an effort to get President Trump to step back from the war.

‘This war has been producing a lot of pressure – economic pressure – on others, in terms of inflation, in terms of lack of energy, and so if it will be continued, this pressure will be built up more, and therefore others have no choice (but) to intervene.’

The IDF has confirmed the Israeli military has been targeting the main drone headquarters of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The attack was said to be part of a number of strikes on ‘infrastructure’ in the last 24 hours

The US and Israel launched their first attack on Iran nine days ago, prompting an onslaught of retaliation from the region.

As a a result, at 1,700 people are confirmed to have died as a result of the conflict.

At least 1,205 civilians have been killed in Iran according to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), including 194 children and 187 military personnel.

486 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel began bombing the country last week.

Several dozen more have been killed by strikes in Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, the UAE. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has backed his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun and joined the fight to disarm Hezbollah.

In a video conference, the new leader said: ‘We stand alongside Lebanese president Joseph Aoun in disarming Hezbollah.

‘We have reinforced our defensive forces along the border as a precaution to prevent the repercussions of the conflict from spilling over onto Syrian territory, and to combat cross-border organizations and prevent them from using Syrian soil.’

It comes after Aoun claimed Hezbollah’s move to launch rockets towards Israel showed its desire to ‘collapse’ the Lebanese state.

Syria has been attempting to distance itself from the Iran War, but has reported debris falling over its territory in recent days.

Iran has a new Supreme Leader, and he’s already reportedly been marked for assassination.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was announced as his successor on Sunday, March 8, after being appointed by the regime’s 88-member Assembly of Experts – despite previous opposition from his father.

Khamenei, who has been nicknamed ‘The Butcher’, is said to be even more brutal than his father and was believed to be the shadow hand behind the brutal crackdown following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been talking to the Commons about the impact of the Iran War on the economy.

In her speech, she promised extra cash for the Military of Defence as the conflict continues to escalate – and insisted this would not lead to future cuts elsewhere.

She said: ‘I am proud to be the chancellor that is delivering the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, and I am committed to giving our military the resources that they need.

‘That is why I can confirm today that I approved access for the Ministry of Defence to the special reserve to deploy additional capabilities in the Middle East.

‘Meaning that no net additional costs of these operations will be funded by the MoD, but instead will be funded by the Treasury.’

The White House took to X on Monday morning with a video of President Trump cut with several clips of United States Armed Forces bomber planes and war ships.

‘This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the STRENGTH and MIGHT of the United States Armed Forces,’ it posted.

The national average gas price in the US today is at $3.47 per gallon, according to AAA.

Yesterday, the average was $3.45, and one week ago it was $2.99.