U.S. President Donald Trump had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, which according to the Kremlin was a “frank and businesslike” conversation that lasted about an hour.

1. Heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran has been going on for more than a week, while Iran has launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries. Israel is striking Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the militant group fires rockets into Israel. 2. Iranian state TV announced early Monday that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was named supreme leader, in defiance of threats by Trump. Khamenei is seen as even more hard-line than his father, the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. He will now be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision about Tehran’s nuclear program. 3. U.S. stocks closed higher following a remarkable reversal as oil prices fell from nearly $120 per barrel below $90. 4. A 26-year-old Army staff sergeant from Kentucky was identified as the seventh U.S. service member killed during the Iran war, after being wounded on a base in Saudi Arabia on March 1. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed the same day at a Kuwaiti port. 5. New footage has raised the likelihood that the U.S. military struck an Iranian elementary school where a blast killed at least 165 people, mostly children.

Here is the latest:

After volatile swings in oil prices, Trump claims to be bringing down prices

The U.S. president told House Republicans that he’s beaten inflation, even as swings in the oil market have gasoline costs rising in America after the start of the war with Iran.

Trump said that Democrats before his second term caused affordability to be a problem, “but we’re really bringing down prices.”

Gas prices have risen 20% in the past month to a national average of $3.48 a gallon, according to AAA.

Trump didn’t bother to address that, saying of prices that, “We’re even bringing them down further. They’ll be way down.”

State Department orders drawdown at more Mideast diplomatic missions

The move comes as the State Department is under increasing but historically familiar criticism for not doing enough to prepare embassies, consulates and American citizens living abroad for conflict.

The department on Monday ordered the departure of nonessential staff and families from Saudi Arabia and the consulate in Adana, Turkey, in response to escalating Iranian retaliation to U.S.-Israeli attacks.

That means 10 U.S. embassies and consulates in the region have reduced staffing, although only two have fully suspended operations. The reductions are the largest since the Iraq War began in 2003.

— By Matthew Lee

▶ Read more about the State Department’s crisis response.

Trump says that the US would have been attacked by Iran ‘within a week’

The president dismissed criticism from some Democratic officials that there was no reason for the U.S. and Israel to strike Iran.

“Well, I’ll give you the best reason of all. Within a week they were going to attack us, 100%. They were ready,” Trump said.

He did not offer any information to support that statement but said Iran had “all these missiles, far more than anyone thought.”

However, Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S.

— By Michelle L. Price

Saudi Arabia intercepts 12 drones fired toward oil field

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said Monday night it downed the drones over the Empty Quarter desert that were fired toward its massive Shaybah oil field.

The 12 drones arrived in two waves; the first had three drones and the second had nine, the ministry’s spokesperson said.

The Defense Ministry has repeatedly posted in recent days that it intercepted drones heading toward the Shaybah field.

Trump says family of soldiers killed in Middle East told him to ‘win’ in Iran

The U.S. president briefly recounted what family members of soldiers killed as part of the ongoing war with Iran told him during the dignified transfer of their remains Saturday in Dover, Delaware.

“But they all said one thing to me: ‘Make sure you win, sir. Make sure you win,’” Trump said.

Trump called the dignified transfer “a beautiful thing, but it’s also a very sad thing.”

Trump tells Republican House members that Mideast war will be ‘short term’

Trump opened his address to the lawmakers by talking about Iran, saying “we took a little excursion” to the Middle East “to get rid of some evil. And, I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.”

The legislators met earlier in the day at Trump's golf club near Miami.

Kuwait’s military intercepts missiles and drones

There was no immediate word on casualties or damage, but a statement from the Kuwaiti army said the sound of explosions late Monday were from interception efforts.

Hours earlier, Kuwait’s ruling emir gave a speech saying the country has been attacked by a “neighboring Muslim country,” without naming it.

The emir insisted that Kuwait’s territory, air space and coasts have not been used in any military operations against that neighboring country, and “this was repeatedly conveyed through our diplomatic channels.”

Kuwait, a small, oil-rich Gulf nation, has carefully managed its relationship with Iran.

Prewar US intel assessment found intervention in Iran wasn’t likely to change leadership

The National Intelligence Council’s assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger, prolonged military campaign would be likely to result in a new government taking over in Iran, even if the current leadership was killed.

That’s according to two people familiar with the finding, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified report.

The determination undercuts the administration’s assertion that it can complete its objectives in Iran relatively quickly, perhaps in a matter of weeks.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the assessment on Monday and referred questions to the White House.

— By Michelle L. Price and Mary Clare Jalonick

▶ Read more about the intelligence assessment on Iran.

Australia grants asylum to 5 members of the Iranian women’s soccer team

The Iranian athletes, who were visiting the country for a tournament, were transported from their hotel “to a safe location” by federal police officers in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

There, they met with Burke and the processing of their humanitarian visas finalized, the minister told reporters in Brisbane hours later.

Trump had said Monday that Australia’s prime minister was helping the Iranian team after Trump urged the U.S. ally to grant the players asylum rather than send them back to Iran.

Wall Street erases a big loss and closes higher as oil prices fall after surging near $120 a barrel

The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long.

Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, their highest since 2022, back toward $90.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.5% before flipping to a gain of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239 points, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4%. They’re the latest hour-to-hour swings to pummel markets because of uncertainty about how high oil prices will go and how long they will stay there.

EU economy chief warns of stagflation if the Mideast war drags on

The European Union’s economic chief is warning of the threat of stagflation if the war in the Middle East drags on, but says it’s too early to know how great the conflict’s impact will be.

“Stagflation” is a toxic combination of still-high inflation and a weak or stagnant economy. It bedeviled the U.S. in the 1970s, when even deep recessions didn’t kill inflation.

“Persistent targeting of shipping and energy infrastructure risks exposing the global economy to a stagflationary shock over the longer term,” EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters after a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers.

But he said that “should the conflict quickly de-escalate, contain disruptions to energy supplies and infrastructure (it) would likely have limited impact.”

“We need to keep a cool head, so to say, and continue to monitor the situation,” he said.

Trump tells CBS News that Mideast war could end soon

Trump commented as rising oil and gasoline prices caused by the war spark international concern.

CBS News White House reporter Weijia Jiang posted on X that Trump told her over the phone Monday that the war is “very far ahead of schedule.”

“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” Jiang quoted Trump as telling her. “They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”

Trump had said the war could last about four weeks. It was launched on Feb. 28.

Asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Trump told Jiang that ships continue to move through the vital shipping channel but that he is “thinking about taking it over.”

Trump has a call with Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, Kremlin says

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov described the conversation as “frank and businesslike” and said it lasted about one hour.

He said the Russian president “voiced a few ideas aimed at a quick political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict following his conversations with Gulf leaders and Iran’s president.

Trump offered his assessment of the developing situation, Ushakov said, “in the context of the ongoing U.S.-Israeli operation.” The two leaders had a “specific and useful” exchange of views, and they touched on Venezuela “in the context of the situation in the global oil market,” he said.

Tehran residents struggle to find safety from missiles

Iran’s capital has no citywide system of shelters or sirens to warn residents of incoming U.S. and Israeli strikes, leaving many to take cover in interior rooms and tape up windows to protect against shattered glass, a 41-year-old resident said. He said the city’s subway hasn’t become widely used as a shelter.

Because of Iran’s ongoing internet shutdown, many people there rely on satellite TV, state media and word-of-mouth for news about the war, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security fears.

—By Shirin Hakim in New York.

A senior Hezbollah official says fighting Israel is the only option

Mohammad Raad, the leader of Hezbollah’s bloc in the Lebanese parliament, also slammed the government for criticizing the militant group’s rocket attacks on Israel.

He made the remarks in a televised statement as top government officials urged the international community for a diplomatic resolution that maintains Lebanon’s commitment to disarming Hezbollah.

“Lebanon today is not choosing between war and peace, as some claim,” Raad said, “but between war and submission to the humiliating conditions that the enemy wants to impose on our government.”

“We will fight the enemy with our teeth and nails until we expel them from our land, in fulfillment of our religious duty,” he said.

Official says at least 7 mariners have been killed around the Strait of Hormuz

The head of the International Maritime Organization says they were killed in “recent” attacks on merchant vessels. Arsenio Dominguez spoke earlier Monday and said several other mariners had been injured, “some of them gravely.”

He did not say who was behind the attacks and urged shipping companies to use “maximum caution” in the region. He said all parties must respect the freedom of navigation.

Tom Brady and the Fanatics Flag Football Classic switch from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles

The venue swap for the March 21 inaugural competition featuring numerous NFL players and coaches comes amid the Iran war and travel advisories.

It was slated to be held at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, but instead will relocate to BMO Stadium, which will be the site where flag football makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 LA Games.

Macron proposes a multinational mission to escort tankers once the war stops

The French president said he started discussing a French-led initiative that will involve European and non-European nations helping to escort oil and gas tankers with the aim of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz off Iran “as soon as possible after the most intense phase of the conflict is over.”

Macron said he talked with some other European nations and India about the proposal, during a visit to Cyprus.

“We are preparing this mission with our partners,” he said. The mission’s purpose would be “strictly peaceful and defensive”, he said and would come only when most strikes stop. “It is essential to our economies and to the global economy” to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security in the region, he said.

Iran-backed Yemeni group welcomes selection of new ayatollah

The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels congratulated Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on being selected as the new supreme leader in Iran, calling it a “significant achievement in these exceptional circumstances.”

In a statement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi says the group is supporting Iran “against aggression and tyranny” without saying whether the group would join the war.

Iran has long backed Houthis, considered the strongest within Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and Hamas. The Houthis follow a branch of Shiite Islam that is almost exclusively found in Yemen.

A priest is killed by Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon, state media says

Just a few days ago, Father Pierre al-Rai had appeared in a widely circulated video saying that he would not leave the village, despite the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants in the border area.

“I am ready to die in my home, because it is my home,” he said in the video, adding that “the only weapons we carry are peace, goodness and love.”

There was no Israeli statement on his death. The Israeli military has issued several broad evacuation warnings telling residents in the area south of the Litani River to leave, as it is carrying out heavy bombardment that it says targets Hezbollah sites.

Residents of Qlayaa protested to demand the Lebanese army increase its presence around the town and prevent armed groups from entering the area, the National News Agency reported.

Britain’s defense secretary says UK is conducting air defense to support the UAE

John Healey said Typhoon jets successfully took out two drones, one over Jordan and the second heading to Bahrain. He did not give more details.

He also confirmed that the first U.S. bomber aircraft landed at an air base in England on Friday, after the U.K. gave the U.S. permission to use British bases for specific defensive operations.

Healey added Monday the destroyer HMS Dragon would set sail for the eastern Mediterranean “in the next couple of days,” where it would join U.S. air defense vessels.

To save fuel, Pakistan closes all schools

The two-week school closure would affect about 40 million students in a country of roughly 250 million.

In response to soaring global oil prices, Pakistan is also telling half its state employees to work from home and switching colleges and universities to remote classes.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced a 50% cut in free fuel allocation for government vehicles for the next two months. Government offices, excluding banks, will operate four days a week.

Footage shows moment an Iranian missile explodes in Israel

In the CCTV released by Or Yehuda municipality, a man is seen walking next to a road as a huge explosion occurs. The man is then seen falling down, while another person rushes to help him seconds after. The municipality of Or Yehuda said Monday the man was seriously injured.

Dramatic security camera video shows a man walking next to a road as a huge explosion occurs. He then falls, apparently injured, while another person rushes to help him.

On Monday, Israel said another man was killed by Iranian missile fire in the same area, raising the country’s death toll to 11. This marked the first death from missiles in Israel in a week.

A top Iranian official says economic pain, not diplomacy, will end the war

A foreign policy adviser to the office of the supreme leader told CNN on Monday that Iran is prepared for a long war with the United States, ruling out that diplomacy could end the conflict that started over a week ago.

“I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore,” said Kamal Kharazi in an interview from Tehran. “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”.

Putin says Russia increases oil and gas supplies to ‘reliable partners’

President Vladimir Putin on Monday said Russia has “repeatedly warned that attempts to destabilize the situation in the Middle East will inevitably jeopardize” the global energy market, raising prices and limiting supplies.

The Russian leader emphasized that Moscow is a “reliable energy supplier” and will continue to supply oil and gas to “countries that themselves are reliable partners,” like those in the Asia-Pacific region or Slovakia and Hungary in Eastern Europe. Moreover, Russia is “increasing supplies” to its reliable partners, Putin said.

He reiterated that Russia was pondering diverting gas supplies from the European Union, where a full ban on Russian gas from 2027 was agreed, to other markets, but added that if “European buyers” change their mind, Moscow was ready to work with them.

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