WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday that he is "nowhere near" ordering US ground troops into Iran to safeguard nuclear material at Isfahan, according to the New York Post.

"We haven't made any decision on that. We're nowhere near it," Trump told the newspaper in a phone interview.

Trump also said he is "not happy" with Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader.

On Sunday, Trump said that Iran's next supreme leader "is not going to last long" without his approval.

"He's going to have to get approval from us," Trump said in an interview with ABC News. "If he doesn't get approval from us he's not going to last long."

On Feb 28, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dozens of senior officials and military commanders, as well as hundreds of civilians.

China has described Iran's choice of a new supreme leader as its internal decision. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun, speaking on Monday after Mojtaba Khamenei was named as Iran's new supreme leader, said the decision was made by the country based on its own constitution.

At a daily news conference in Beijing, Guo said China has taken note of relevant reports.

Guo added that China opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries under any pretext, and stressed that Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected.

Guo repeated China's calls for an immediate halt to military operations and urged all parties to resume dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible to prevent further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

SEOUL -- South Korean stocks fell sharply at the opening on Monday as investors remained cautious amid heightened market volatility fueled by the Middle East conflict and a surge in global oil prices.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 319.5 points, or 5.72 percent, to 5,265.37 shortly after trading began. Market sentiment was dampened by concerns over unstable energy prices after US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed above 100 US dollars per barrel on Sunday for the first time since July 2022.

CANBERRA -- The Australian government has ordered the evacuation of the family members of diplomats based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In a statement posted on social media platform X late on Sunday night, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said that the government has directed the departure of dependents of Australian officials posted to the UAE due to the "deteriorating security situation."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the UAE said on Sunday that infrastructure and civilian sites across the country have been targeted by more than 1,400 ballistic missiles and drones launched by Iran, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.

Wong said on Sunday that the government is working to help Australians leave the country after advising all citizens to do so on Feb 28.

The government said at the start of March that there were around 24,000 Australian citizens in the UAE and around 115,000 in the Middle East.

CAIRO -- Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei, was selected as Iran's new supreme leader, Iran's Assembly of Experts announced on Sunday.

In a statement, the assembly confirmed Mojtaba Khamenei's election as the country's third supreme leader, citing "the decisive vote of the respected representatives" of the assembly.

"In today's extraordinary session, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei ... is appointed and introduced as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the statement said.

Following the announcement, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) immediately pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader, voicing its readiness to follow his instructions.

Mojtaba Khamenei, born in 1969, is the son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes.

Mojtaba has been widely speculated as the new supreme leader even before the announcement. Israel and the United States have both issued threats to Iran in this regard.

On Wednesday, Israel threatened that whoever Iran chooses as its new supreme leader would be "a target for elimination."

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump told US news website Axios that it is "unacceptable" for Mojtaba Khamenei to become Iran's new leader, noting that Trump himself must be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader.

Trump also warned that if Iran selects a new leader who "continues Khamenei's policies," the United States will be forced to return to war "within five years."

The United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Feb 28, killing Ali Khamenei, along with some of the leader's family members, Iran's senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded through several waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US assets across the Middle East.

A week after a drone attack hit a United Kingdom Royal Air Force base on the island of Cyprus, pressure is mounting from within the Mediterranean nation for Britain to remove its military facilities there amid fears the country is being dragged into a wider Middle East conflict.

Hundreds marched in the capital Nicosia on Saturday, holding up banners stating "Cyprus is not your launchpad" and "British bases out", following the March 1 strike on RAF Akrotiri, which was believed to have originated from Lebanon, according to the Cyprus government.

The UK has two bases in Cyprus — Akrotiri and Dhekelia — that were established in 1960 under the Treaty of Establishment, which granted Cyprus independence from the British Empire.

The sites, which cover about 254 square kilometers, remain under British sovereignty, serving as crucial, strategic military, intelligence, and logistical hubs in the eastern Mediterranean.

The drone attack reignited a debate over UK hard power and the future of Sovereign Base Areas, with protesters in Cyprus urging the UK government to keep the island out of the Iran conflict.

"I think that we'd be a lot safer without them here," one protester Shona Muir was quoted by the BBC as saying. "Their presence alone here makes us more of a target," she added.

"They are a danger to our security and should never have been here in the first place," another demonstrator Mathaios Stavrinides told The Guardian newspaper. "We want them closed", he added.

Critics argue that if the UK cannot safeguard its bases, it should lose the right to keep them, reported The Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Protester Sergio Velarde, a Mexican who has lived in Cyprus for six years, displayed a placard urging the British military to leave the island.

"It's not fair that the British still have these bases. It's a form of colonialism. It's very weird," he told The Telegraph.

The Cypriot government has emphasized in recent days that it was a UK base, not Cyprus, which was targeted by the drone, and that the island is not involved in the ongoing conflict.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday that the British government's handling of the matter had caused "annoyance", adding that the UK government had not made clear before the incident that the bases would not be used for offensive operations.

The Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said the governance of the two bases is in question and urged talks between London and Nicosia.

"There are questions. There are issues. There are concerns," Kombos told BBC Newsnight.

Following the drone strike, the UK bolstered its bases by deploying anti drone helicopters and it is preparing to dispatch additional naval assets to the eastern Mediterranean.

A British Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the BBC: "Our bases in Cyprus play a crucial role in supporting the safety of British citizens and our allies in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East."

WASHINGTON -- US Central Command said on Sunday that the seventh US service member has been killed amid the strikes against Iran, which the United States and Israel launched on Feb 28.

"Last night, a US service member passed away from injuries," the command said in a post on X. "The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on US troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 1."

"This is the seventh service member killed in action during Operation Epic Fury. Major combat operations continue," said the command.

On Saturday, the bodies of the first six US soldiers were returned to the United States.

At least 1,332 Iranian civilians, including women and children, have been killed and thousands more injured since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran launched on Feb. 28, Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Friday.

TEHRAN -- Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Sunday urged Muslim states in the region to prevent US and Israeli attacks on Iranian fuel and energy facilities, warning that Tehran would respond with similar actions if strikes continue.

Spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari made the remarks after several fuel storage facilities in Tehran and neighboring Alborz province were hit in US and Israeli strikes on Saturday night, causing temporary fuel supply disruptions and raising health and environmental concerns, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported.

Zolfaghari accused the United States and Israel of "brutally" attacking Iran's energy infrastructure and public service centers, in addition to killing civilians. He said Muslim states in the region should warn Washington and Jerusalem against taking such "cowardly and inhumane actions" to prevent the spread of conflict.

"Otherwise, similar actions will be taken in the region. If you can tolerate oil prices above $200 per barrel, keep playing this game," Zolfaghari added.

The warning comes after Feb 28 joint strikes by Israel and the United States on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, some of his family members, senior military commanders, and civilians. Iran responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump threatened on Sunday that Iran's new supreme leader "is not going to last long" without his approval.

"He's going to have to get approval from us," Trump said in an interview with ABC News. "If he doesn't get approval from us he's not going to last long."

"I don't want people to have to go back in five years and have to do the same thing again or worse let them have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Iran's Assembly of Experts has finalized a decision on its new supreme leader, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday. Trump said earlier that he must be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dozens of senior officials and military commanders, as well as hundreds of civilians.

RIYADH -- A "military projectile" struck a residential area in Saudi Arabia's Al-Kharj governorate on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 12, the Saudi Civil Defense said.

The two killed were Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, while the 12 injured were Bangladeshi residents, the authority said, adding that the incident also caused material damage.

The residential site belongs to a maintenance and cleaning company, it said.

Attempts to target civilians constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, the authority added.

Israeli airstrikes hit Palestinian refugee camp in S. Lebanon's Sidon -- report

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli air force struck Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps' aerospace forces headquarters, which served as a reception, transmission, and research center for the Iranian Space Agency, the Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday.

Gong Jiong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, told China Daily that Israel may soon encounter a dual dilemma. As the war drags on, Israeli people who are taking shelter from missiles in "safe rooms" and experiencing social life disruption, might take to the streets in protest, exerting tremendous political pressure on the Benjamin Netanyahu government. Additionally, intercepting missiles puts the defender in a disadvantageous position, akin to "hitting a bullet with a bullet". Facing Iran's stockpile of missiles, Israel's defense capability may have a huge problem.

TEHRAN -- Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out strikes on the US Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday morning, according to local media reports.

Regional leaders have doubled down on their calls to return to diplomacy after tensions escalated to a dizzying phase as the United States, Israel, and Iran kept up their strikes across the Middle East.

On Friday, nearly a week into the conflict, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates continued to thwart Iranian strikes as Israel launched fresh strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, while the US targeted Iran, where at least 20 people have been killed and 30 injured.

In Iran, at least 1,332 people have been killed by the US and Israeli joint attacks since Feb 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

In Israel, the air force said it conducted a "broad-scale wave" of 26 strikes in the Dahieh area of Lebanon, targeting "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure".

It also claimed that measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians before the strikes.

Residents in Dubai continued to receive attack alerts on their phones on Friday, while France's Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said a total of 52 French ships were currently blocked in the Gulf region and another eight in the Red Sea.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had shot down an Israeli Heron drone flying over the central city of Isfahan.

On Friday, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake became the latest world leader to call for peace.

"No civilian should die in wars. Our approach is that every life is as precious as our own. We jealously guard our nonaligned policy while ensuring that humanitarian values and the saving of lives remain our top priority," said the president in a post on X.

Dissanayake also urged all parties "to demonstrate a firm commitment to peace".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that tensions in the Middle East have reached an alarming level following airstrikes on Iran, as he vowed to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation. However, Erdogan also said if a risk to Turkiye's security arises, they would take all necessary measures to coordinate with allies, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Turkiye, he said, would continue multi-faceted diplomatic efforts to prevent further bloodshed in the region and stop tensions from escalating to an irreversible point.

A similar call was made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, noting that Cairo was pursuing mediation efforts to halt the fighting, according to a statement.

Essential needs stressed

During a ceremony on Friday organized by the Egyptian Military Academy, the Egyptian president said the war reflected miscalculations and misjudgments. He warned that the current crisis could affect prices and cautioned against exploiting the situation to raise or manipulate them.

Sisi also stressed that Egypt is in a state of near emergency and that people's essential needs must not be compromised.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran is being "demolished" ahead of schedule and "at levels people have never seen before", claiming the country now has "no air force, no air defense" and the "navy is gone".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said in an interview with NBC News that Iran does not want a ceasefire with the US and Israel after being attacked twice during recent negotiations.

Meanwhile, two US officials told Reuters that US military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children last Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation.

The girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit during the first day of US and Israeli attacks on the country. According to state media, Iran on Tuesday held funerals for at least 165 people including students killed.

Agencies contributed to this story.

jan@chinadailyapac.com

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said on Friday the White House is seeking a new Iranian leader who can "treat the United States and Israel well" and he is not concerned whether the Middle Eastern country becomes a democracy.

Asked in a phone call with CNN whether Iran needs to be a democracy, Trump said: "No, I'm saying there has to be a leader that's going to be fair and just."

Trump also said he is open to having a religious leader in Iran.

"Do a great job. Treat the United States and Israel well, and treat the other countries in the Middle East -- they're all our partners," he said of a new Iranian leadership that the US seeks.

The US and Israel launched joint massive attacks on Iran on Feb 28, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians.

Trump said Thursday he wants a say in picking Iran's next supreme leader, a claim criticized by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh as a "colonial approach".

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO -- The National Paralympic Committee of Iran will not compete at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games due to travel safety concerns, the International Paralympic Committee announced on Friday.

Iran had been due to participate at Milan-Cortina with one athlete - Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, a two-time Paralympian in para cross-country skiing.

The 23-year-old, who took part in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, planned to compete in the men's sprint classic standing and the men's 10km interval start classic standing events this time.

IPC President Andrew Parsons said, "It is really disappointing for world sport and especially for Aboulfazl that he is unable to travel safely to compete at his third Paralympic Winter Games at Milan-Cortina 2026."

The opening ceremony will be held at the Verona Olympic Arena on Friday evening. According to the IPC, as a result of Iran's non-participation, the country's flag has been removed from Friday's opening ceremony.

LONDON -- Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, topped $90 per barrel during Friday's session, the first time since April 2024, trading data showed.

Affected by the tensions in the Middle East, Brent oil price rose to around 91 dollars per barrel by 3 pm local time (1500 GMT), surging around 7 percent from the previous trading day.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States will accept no agreement with Iran short of "unconditional surrender", one day after Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Iran is not requesting a ceasefire and does not see any reason to negotiate with Washington.

Qatar's energy minister has said that oil prices would hit $150 per barrel without a quick end to the conflict, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Is the Strait of Hormuz blocked — or not? Du Ping, an international affairs commentator, says, in reality, both are true. Iran hasn't imposed a formal blockade, yet repeated threats have disrupted shipping through the strait. Low cost, high impact — this "verbal blockade" is a strategic play targeting the United States and its regional allies.

BEIJING -- China attaches high importance to passengers being stranded in the Middle East and has gone all out to provide relevant assistance, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday in response to a related query.

Spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily press briefing that the ministry has activated emergency response mechanism at the earliest opportunity, and held urgent consultations with the Civil Aviation Administration and other competent authorities for the early resumption of flights while ensuring safety, adding that positive progress has been made with the joint efforts of various parties.

Mao noted that on the night of March 4, nearly 300 Chinese nationals arrived safely in Guangzhou from Dubai on a foreign airline flight. Starting March 5, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines have successively resumed round-trip flights to the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

"We once again caution that the current situation in the Middle East remains complex and severe with high uncertainties," said Mao. She also urged Chinese nationals to avoid traveling to countries and regions affected by the military conflict, and advised those already there to closely follow relevant information and leave promptly while flights are available.