Trump threatens to escalate Iran war, expresses disappointment over new supreme leader

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocks oil shipments from the Middle East, even as he predicted a quick end to the conflict. He also expressed disappointment over Iran's appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump's warning came at the end of Monday that saw global financial markets seesawing on concerns that Iran's security establishment was rallying behind Mojtaba Khamenei and was not prepared to back down anytime soon.

The US president said the United States had inflicted serious damage on Iran's air force and navy and predicted the conflict would end well before the initial four-week time frame he had laid out, though he has not defined what victory would look like.

He warned that US attacks could rise sharply if Iran sought to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

"We will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world," Trump said at a news conference.

Regarding Iran's new leadership, Trump expressed disappointment over the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his slain father as supreme leader.

"We think it's going to lead to just more of the same problem for the country," Trump told reporters at a press conference in Florida.

When asked whether the new leader had a target on his back, Trump said it would be "inappropriate" to say whether or not he does.

Source: Reuters