DUBAI/JERUSALEM/DORAL, Florida ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday predicted the war in the Middle East could be over soon, even as Iran¡¯s hardliners staged a show of loyalty to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a sign that it was not prepared to back down any time soon.
The conflicting signals sent markets on a roller coaster, with oil prices surging and stock markets nosediving before swinging in the other direction after Trump¡¯s comments and reports of a possible ease in sanctions on Russian energy.
Khamenei, 56, a Shi¡¯ite cleric with a power base among the security forces and their vast business empire, has been declared unacceptable by Trump, who has demanded Iran¡¯s unconditional surrender.
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