Trump lashes out at Starmer, Macron and BBC in astonishing White House outburst: Live updates

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Iranians have an ‘opportunity’ to overthrow the regime after the death of security chief Ali Larijani.

In a new video released today, Netanyahu said there are ‘many more surprises’ ahead after Israel earlier announced the assassinations of high-ranking figures.

He said: ‘We are undermining the regime in the hope of giving the people an opportunity to remove it.

‘It will not happen all at once, and it will not be easy. But if we persist, we will give them an opportunity to take their fate into their own hands.

‘We are helping our American allies in the Gulf. We will assist both indirectly and through direct actions there are many more surprises ahead.’

New figures show petrol prices are now 10p higher than before the Iran war escalated – while diesel figures have shot up by 20p a litre.

The RAC said prices at the pump were ‘really starting to hurt drivers’ as they continue to rise.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said:

Petrol has now increased by 10p a litre since the start of the conflict in Iran and diesel by double that.

This is really starting to hurt drivers who do a lot of miles, and especially for those with diesel vehicles.

At 162p a litre they’re now paying 11 more than they were at end of February at 89 a tank.

If oil stays around the 100 dollars a barrel mark, then the price of petrol should not go above 148p a litre.

The outlook for diesel is worse as it appears to be on a crash course to an average price of 170p.”

Donald Trump has now turned his attention on the BBC – branding it ‘corrupt, fraudulent news’.

He accused the broadcaster of editing his 2021 speech after he had lost the presidential election to Joe Biden to give the impression he had encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol building.

It comes after the corporation filed a motion to dismiss Mr Trump’s 10 billion dollar (7.5 billion) defamation lawsuit over an edit of a Panorama documentary on Monday.

Asked about his lawsuit today, Mr Trump said:

They put words in my mouth and they said I said some pretty bad things and I didn’t say them, it was AI generated.

He also used the opportunity to criticise the BBC’s coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran as so inaccurate’ and ‘unbelievable’.

He said:

We have decimated that country and if you watch BBC it’s almost like they’re fighting us to a draw.

It’s not just fake, it’s beyond fake. It’s really criminal what they do.

Iran’s selective blockade has evolved to allow allies and supporters to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to experts.

Michelle Wiese Bockmann, senior maritime intelligence analyst at Windward AI, said on X: ‘The new route illustrates how Irans selective blockade has evolved to allow allies and supporters to transit.

‘Eight ships, excluding Iranian-flagged vessels, were tracked through the Strait with their AIS (automatic identification system) on 16 March, nearly double numbers seen earlier this week.’

India has been among one of the many countries negotiating permission with Iran.

BBC veteran correspondent John Simpson has been criticised for describing Iranian regime security chief Ali Larijani as ‘clever and reasonable’.

Mr Simpson posted on X:

Ive met Ali Larijani several times over the years. Yes, he was a top figure in a nasty regime.

But he always seemed clever and reasonable the kind of person you might want to negotiate a peace deal with.

Is it a good idea for Israel to take out people like him?

According to the Jewish Chronicle, among his critics was someone on X, who said:

This is quite the take. Yes he might have overseen the torture & murder of thousands of Iranians, but he did so with a pleasant smile. I despair.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has had his say on the Iran conflicted – insisting the Iranian regime and Vladimir Putin’s Russia are ‘brothers in hatred’.

Mr Zelensky highlighted co-operation between Tehran and Moscow on Shahed kamikaze drones which had targeted Ukraine and countries across the Gulf.

Speaking in a Westminster committee room, he said:

The regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred and that is why they are brothers in weapons.

And we want regimes built on hatred, to never, never win in anything.

And we want no such regime to threaten Europe or our partners.

by Imogen Garfinkel, Senior Foreign News Reporter

After US and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, the Islamic regime was still very much alive due to one formidable politician.

That man was Ali Larijani, Irans feared national security chief, thought by many to have been the de facto leader of the country and the architect of its terror.

Hours after the ayatollah was declared dead, he posted a chilling message on social media, swearing revenge.

‘Today we will hit them with a force that they have never experienced before,’ the top official said.

On Tuesday, Israel claimed its military assassinated Larijani in a secretive operation, effectively eliminating a pivotal figure at the heart of the dictatorship who insiders claim was preparing to consolidate power amid the Middle East crisis.

According to Israeli media, the killing of Larijani was initially scheduled for Sunday night, but was postponed at the last minute.

• Read more here

by Katelyn Carelle, Senior US Political Reporter

Donald Trump said he’s glad that his top counterterrorism official resigned over the war with Iran.

In an extraordinary and unprecedented move for this administration, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent announced he was stepping down over his objections to the US launching joint strikes with Israel.

‘When I read his statement I realized that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat every country realized what a threat Iran was,’ the President insisted.

He said there would have been a ‘nuclear holocaust’ if the US did not take the step at the end of last month to strike Iran.

‘When somebody is working with us that says they didn’t think Iran is a threat we don’t want those people,’ Trump added.

• Read more here

Donald Trump has said it is up for people in the UK to have confidence in Sir Keir Starmer.

Asked if he had confidence in the Prime Minister, Mr Trump said:

Its not for me, its really for the people of the UK to have confidence. I mean, Ive been very critical of Keir and I did it in a friendly way I said, if you dont change your energy thing and get away from windmills and go back to oil and gas.

Mr Trump added he believed Sir Keir is ‘a nice man’ but that he disagreed with him on his energy and immigration policies.

Irish premier Micheal Martin has said that Donald Trump ‘has the capacity’ to get along with European leaders.

He was speaking after Mr Trump said British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was not supportive of the US military offensive on Iran.

Mr Martin, who is visiting Mr Trump for St Patrick’s Day, said the relationship between Europe and the US is ‘very, very important’, and that Mr Starmer had ‘done a lot to reset’ the Irish-British relationship.

He said previous issues between the EU and the US last year, where there was the threat of a tariff war, were resolved.

‘I think we can get landing zone again,’ Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin said of Sir Keir:

I do believe that he’s a very earnest, sound person. With him, you have a capacity to get on with, you’ve got on with him before.

Donald Trump’s top counterterrorism official has resigned in protest over the Iran war, accusing Israel of pressuring the US into a conflict he says was built on lies.

Joseph Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was started ‘due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,’ adding: ‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war.’

Kent, who served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, accused the President of reneging on the non-interventionist principles he campaigned on.

‘Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation,’ the former Army Special Forces soldier wrote in his resignation letter.

‘The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.’

• Read more here