Iran-US war latest: Trump threatens to seize Kharg Island ‘easily’ as oil heads for record monthly jump

President Donald Trump said the US and Iran have been meeting “directly and indirectly” and that Iran’s new leaders have been “very reasonable”, as more US troops arrived in the region and Tehran warned it will not accept humiliation.

Mr Trump’s remarks came after Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long Iran war.

“I think we’ll ⁠make a deal with them, I’m pretty sure, but it’s possible we won’t,” Mr Trump told reporters last evening as he traveled aboard Air Force One to Washington.

Mr Trump said he thought the US had already accomplished regime change in Tehran after strikes killed the country’s supreme leader and other top officials, but said twice that their replacements seemed “reasonable”.

New Zealand’s finance ​minister said this morning that inflation was likely to rise “much higher” this year and stay ⁠outside the central bank’s target range if the conflict in the Middle East drags on.

Finance ⁠minister Nicola ​Willis said ⁠the latest treasury department modelling had inflation peaking ⁠higher than previously expected based on ​a ⁠scenario with “a ‌longer conflict with deeper disruption to supply chains”.

“They think inflation will ‌go much higher ‌this year, and it will stay out of our target band,” Ms ⁠Willis told reporters.

Data released in January showed fourth-quarter inflation of 3.1 per cent breached the central bank’s target band of 1 per cent to 3 per cent. With energy prices rising, markets ‌are increasingly pricing ​in a near-term policy tightening.

US president Donald Trump this morning claimed his troops have destroyed multiple targets in Iran as the war drags on.

“Big day in Iran. Many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed by our GREAT MILITARY, the finest and most lethal in the World,” Trump wrote in a brief post.

Iran says it is ready and waiting for US troops to launch a ground invasion and threatened to “set fire” to Donald Trump’s forces if they enter the Islamic Republic’s territory.

Speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran is “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire”, in a published message broadcast on Iranian state media, including the official IRNA news agency, on Sunday.

It follows overnight reports that the Pentagon is awaiting President Trump’s approval for ground operations in Iran, according to the Washington Post.

US president Donald Trump has raised the idea of American forces seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Mr Trump told the Financial Times.

“It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.”

Asked about Iranian defences there, he said, “I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily.”

The US already launched airstrikes once it said targeted military positions on the island.

Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and new attacks if US troops land on its territory.

Mr Trump said that Iran’s parliament speaker authorised the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Oil prices extended gains this morning, with Brent headed ‌for a record monthly rise, after Yemeni Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel over the weekend, widening the U.S.-Israel war with Iran in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures jumped $3.09, or 2.74 per cent, to $115.66 a barrel ​by after settling 4.2 per cent higher on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate was at $102.56 ​a barrel, up $2.92, or 2.93 per cent, following a 5.5 per cent gain in the previous ⁠session.

Brent has soared 59 per cent this month, the steepest monthly jump, exceeding gains seen during the 1990 ​Gulf War, after the Iran conflict effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a ​fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

The Israeli military this morning said it was attacking the infrastructure of the Iranian leaders “throughout Tehran”.

US president ​Donald Trump has hinted at differences among his top aides on their approach to Iran, saying that his intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was “softer” than him on curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Mr Trump, who also suggested ⁠that a deal could be near to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, said “yeah, sure,” when asked by a reporter whether he retained confidence in Ms Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence.

“She’s a little bit different in her thought process than me,” Mr Trump said aboard ⁠Air Force One as he returned ​to Washington ⁠after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

“But that doesn’t make somebody not available to serve. I would say that I’m very ⁠strong on the fact that I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear ​weapon ⁠because if they had a ‌nuclear weapon, they’d use it immediately. I think she’s probably a little bit softer on that issue, but that’s okay.”

Mr Trump seldom acknowledges debate among top ‌officials over the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran, ‌which is entering its second month. Vice President JD Vance has staked out a cautious approach on conflict and some other top Republicans have privately worried about the conflict’s domestic economic and political ⁠costs.

The Republican president’s administration has given conflicting messages about the state of Iran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump refused to directly answer a question about whether or not he’ll send U.S. troops into Iran as part of his ongoing war with the nation.

During an Air Force One briefing with reporters on Sunday night, Trump was asked if he was still considering “boots on the ground.”

He said he’s got “lots of alternatives” and proceeded to discuss the large U.S. naval presence in the region and the destruction of Iran’s navy and government. He did not confirm either way if he would send U.S. troops into Iran.

He was also asked if new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive.

“Maybe but nobody’s heard about him. He he may be alive, but he’s obviously very seriously in trouble. He’s seriously wounded,” Trump said.