LIVE US-Israeli strikes batter Iranian ships as oil prices soar

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

If you’re just joining us, the US Naby has reportedly attacked three Iranian oil tankers 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.

• Three Iranian merchant ships 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
• 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
• 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
• The US military has confirmed a seventh service member has killed following an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump is furious after Israel targeted Iran’s oil depots in a blitz that shocked the White House amid soaring oil prices.

A planned summit between the US and Israel was scrapped on Monday in the first open disagreement between the allies since the war broke out.

Thirty Iranian fuel depots were obliterated over the weekend with apocalyptic images showing fires leaping into the sky, huge columns of smoke, and black oily rain falling from the sky.

Anti-Iran war protesters gathered in New York City’s Union Square on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that an attack on Cyprus was an attack on all of Europe as visited the island after it was targeted by Iranian-made drones.

‘When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked,’ Macron said in Paphos alongside the leaders of Cyprus and Greece.

‘The defence of Cyprus is obviously a key issue for your country, for your neighbour, partner and friend, Greece, but also for France and, with it, the European Union,’ he added.

Last week, Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said Italy, ​Spain, France ​and the Netherlands will send naval ​assets ‌to ⁠protect Cyprus after a drone attack on British RAF base at Akrotiri.

The UK has been criticised over its response and has pledged to deploy HMS Dragon which is expected to leave for the Mediterranean this week.

The EU insisted Monday there was ‘no imminent oil supply’ shortage in Europe as the Middle East war sent energy prices soaring.

The benchmark price for a barrel of crude has soared beyond $100 for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

‘There is no imminent oil supply shortage in Europe. Per our rules, all member states must have the 90 days emergency stocks,’European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.

It comes as G7 finance ministers meet this afternoon to discuss the possible release of emergency oil reserves.

Iran has entered day 10 of its internet blackout, according to cybersecurity tracker NetBlocks.

‘Iran’s internet blackout has entered its tenth day with connectivity at one percent of ordinary levels after the 216th hour,’ NetBlocks wrote on X.

‘As regional hostilities intensify, some 90 million Iranians are silenced and cut off from the global internet under a state-imposed shutdown.’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said 11 countries had asked Kyiv for help in how to counter Iranian drones.

Tehran has consistently launched Shahed-type drones across the Middle East as retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on February 28.

‘As of now, there are 11 requests from countries neighbouring Iran, European states, and the US. There is clear interest in Ukraine’s experience in protecting lives, relevant interceptors, electronic warfare systems, and training,’ Zelensky said.

Ukraine touts itself as having world-class drone defence capabilities, built up through fending off nightly barrages of Iran-style attack drones launched by Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed to The New York Times that he has sent interceptor drones and a team of drone experts to protect US military bases in Jordan.

He said the US made the request on Thursday and the team was sent out the next day.

‘We reacted immediately,’ Zelensky said. ‘I said, yes, of course, we will send our experts.’

Mojtaba Khamenei has been named as Iran’s next supreme leader.

Mojtaba is the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was announced on February 28 after he was killed in joint Israeli-US missile strikes.

The 56-year-old was chosen by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics responsible for selecting Iran’s supreme leader.

As Supreme Leader he will now be the commander-in-chief of the regime’s armed forces and appoint the leaders of all military branches, as well as choosing the head of the judiciary.

Iran’s powerful paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also answers to the Supreme Leader, and he will have the final say in the nation’s war strategy.

Thousands of people have gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab square to pledge allegiance to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Supporters armed with Iranian flags and portraits of Mojtaba Khamenei made their way to the square despite Israeli bombing on the capital.

Khamenei was named Iran’s new leader last night, succeeding his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed last month at the start of the war.

The UAE has announced it has detected 15 ballistic missiles in its airspace today with none landing in the country.

According to the UAE defence ministry, 12 of the missiles were destroyed and three landed in the sea.

Eighteen drones were also detected with all but one intercepted.

Since the start of the Iranian attacks, 253 ballistic missiles have been detected. Of these, 233 were destroyed, 18 fell into the sea, and 2 landed within the country.

Four people have been killed in the UAE since the fighting broke out on February 28.

Turkey has declared NATO air defences have shot down a second ballistic missile that was fired from Iran and had entered its airspace, warning it will take any necessary steps against threats.

This marks the second Iranian ballistic missile in the last week that has targeted the south of Turkey, which is a NATO member and Iran’s neighbour. Ankara had warned Iran against attacking again on Saturday, but has not suggested it wants to formally call on alliance members for further protection.

‘We once again emphasise that all necessary measures will be taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace,’ the Turkish Defence Ministry said, adding some ammunition parts had fallen in the southeastern province of Gaziantep but there had been no casualties.

‘We also reiterate that it is in everyone’s interest to heed Turkey’s warnings in this regard,’ it said.

It was unclear where the missile was headed before it was intercepted by NATO defences stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

US air forces are stationed at the Incirlik base in southern Turkey, and there is a NATO radar base in Malatya province to the northeast that provides vital protection for the alliance. Ankara said fragments from the missile fell in empty fields in Gaziantep, which sits roughly between the two.