Iran-US war latest: Trump says it would be ‘easy’ to seize Kharg Island but deal could be made ‘quickly’

Israel’s ministry of defence on Monday said that it had placed a $48 million order for “tens of thousands” of 155mm artillery shells from Israeli defence company Elbit Systems.

The order was part of a broader ministry strategy to reduce Israel’s reliance on foreign munitions and expand domestic production, the ministry said in a statement.

It did not say when the munitions would be delivered.

Over the weekend, Donald Trump said that the US and Iran have been meeting directly and indirectly, appraising the new leaders of the country as being “very reasonable”.

In an apparent climbdown from criticism over the leadership of Iran, Trump said on Sunday he thought the US had already accomplished regime change in the country.

Pakistan, acting as an intermediary between the US and Iran, said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” in the coming days aimed at ending the war.

US eyes possible Kharg invasion

Trump’s comments came even as more US troops arrived in the region, giving Trump the option of launching a ground offensive.

In an interview with Financial Times published on Sunday, Trump said he wanted to “take the oil in Iran” and could seize the export hub of Kharg Island. Taking control of Kharg would require ground troops.

Iran’s parliament speaker accused the US of trying to negotiate while also planning an invasion, and said Iran was ready to respond if needed.

Netanyahu greenlights wider invasion in Lebanon

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said meanwhile on Sunday that he had ordered the military to expand its operations in southern Lebanon, blaming Hezbollah rocket fire.

Israel said last week it was enlarging a ‘buffer zone’ up to the Litani River.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis joined the conflict on Saturday, launching their first attacks on Israel and raising the prospect they could target and thus block a second key shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Israeli authorities said on Sunday that they had intercepted two drones launched from Yemen.

Supreme leader still out of frame

Iran’s new supreme leader thanked the Iraqi people and religious leadership for their support of Iran, according to Iran’s state media. But it was unclear how the message was conveyed.

Mojtaba Khamenei still has not been seen since his appointment as the third supreme leader of Iran in early March.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese has said he wanted more certainty from US president Donald Trump ⁠on the objectives of the ongoing war in Iran.

“I want to see more certainty in what the ⁠objectives of ​the war ⁠are and I want to see a de-escalation,” ⁠Albanese said, responding to a question ​about ⁠his view on ‌how Trump was prosecuting the war.

US president Donald Trump is reportedly considering a military operation to remove nearly 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran.

President Trump is still weighing the risk of the operation and has yet to pass the order, US officials familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

Trump and key allies have privately agreed a targeted operation could seize the uranium without significantly prolonging the war, the report said.

However, former US military officers and experts warned any attempt to extract the uranium would be highly complex and carry significant risks.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, dismissed the talks in Pakistan as a cover after some 2,500 US Marines trained in amphibious landings arrived in the Middle East.

He said Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.

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.