By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Iran's new supreme leader faces a massive external assault and growing internal anger at a time when the backing of the diehard ideologues who supported his predecessors is less clear than before.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has deep influence inside Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and their vast business networks, survived the ‌U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in which his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed more than a week ago.

From their hideouts in the Iraqi mountains near Iran, leftist Kurdish rebels say they are ready to fight the Islamic republic, but hope for an uprising before they intervene, with or without US support.

After saying that he would be "all for" a Kurdish offensive on Iran, US President Donald Trump appeared to backtrack Saturday, saying he did not want such an attack.

Senior commander Roken Nerada of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) told AFP: "If there is an attack on the Kurdish people... then with every means... we are ready to resist as we always have."

The Iran war sent oil prices soaring on Monday after Tehran, under new leader Mojtaba Khamanei, fired a new barrage of missiles at its Gulf neighbours and signalled that the strategic Strait of Hormuz would likely remain shut.

On the first day in power for Khamanei, the 56-year-old son of slain leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian troops mustered another wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Israel.

OSLO, March 9 (Reuters) - Norwegian police are searching for a suspect seen on surveillance footage following an explosion during the weekend at the U.S. embassy in Oslo, investigators said on Monday.

The early Sunday morning blast damaged one of the entrances to the embassy, sending thick smoke into the street but causing no injuries, in what police said may have been linked to the crisis in the Middle East.

DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Lebanon’s parliament extended its own mandate for two years on Monday, a statement from the speaker's office said, pushing back elections that were meant to take place in May of this year.

The office of parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said 76 lawmakers of the 128-seat body had voted in favour of the extension. The vote came a week after Lebanon was dragged into the regional war by militant group Hezbollah's launch of rockets and drones into Israel, which has responded with heavy bombardment across the country.

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 9 (Reuters) - Hezbollah said on Monday its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in eastern Lebanon during an Israeli airborne raid overnight, in what would be the second such operation in the area in recent days, as the war between Israel and the Iran-backed group entered a second week.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military had no immediate comment when asked about the Hezbollah statement.

A Hezbollah statement said its fighters "confronted the helicopters and the infiltrating forces with appropriate weapons".

LIEGE, Belgium, March 9 (Reuters) - An explosion hit a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liege early on Monday in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.

The explosion, which happened around 4 a.m. (0300 GMT), blew out the windows of the synagogue, as well as those of a building on the opposite side of the road, public broadcaster RTBF said.

The cause was not clear, but prosecutors said the case had been passed to federal authorities, which normally investigate incidents linked to terrorism or organised crime.

By Nathan Layne and Aleksandra Michalska

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire, March 9 (Reuters) - In a college library lined with volumes on America's greatest presidents, six young men who voted for Donald Trump gathered to size up his second term. Their verdicts ranged from guarded approval to disappointment, reflecting growing tension in a demographic that helped propel Trump to victory in 2024.

By Sarah Young

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - A planned visit by King Charles to the United States should be cancelled after President Donald Trump repeatedly insulted Britain, the leader of the country's third-biggest party in parliament said on Monday.

Trump has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer after London initially blocked the U.S. from using British bases to attack Iran, saying he was "not Winston Churchill" and that Starmer had helped to "ruin" the so-called Special Relationship between the two countries.

By Gwladys Fouche

OSLO, March 9 (Reuters) - NATO began its biennial drills in the Arctic on Monday, this time placing more emphasis on the role of civilians in supporting the military, at a time of high tension over U.S. President Trump's push to take over Greenland from fellow NATO member Denmark.

The drills, named Cold Response, focus on defending the alliance in the European Arctic, where NATO-members Norway and Finland share a border with Russia, and will run March 9-19 this time.