Trump says only Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ can end war

US President Donald Trump has said only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” would bring an end to the Middle East war. President Donald Trump said Friday that only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” would bring an end to the Middle East war, as Tehran was pummelled by some of the heaviest US-Israeli strikes of the week-long conflict. Now in its seventh day, the war has embroiled nations beyond the region, upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to even usually peaceful areas around the Gulf.

It has spread to Lebanon, whose prime minister warned of an impending humanitarian disaster as the death toll rose and tens of thousands fled heavy Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Trump, who has given varying reasons for starting the war that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last weekend, promised to help rebuild the country’s economy if Tehran installed a new leader “acceptable” to him. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The main US crude oil price — already surging with the critical energy waterway the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf effectively blocked — soared by 10 percent after Trump’s comments. Israel’s military said it had hit more than 400 targets across Iran on Friday. Several loud explosions sent clouds of black smoke into Tehran’s sky, according to AFP journalists who described the day’s strikes as the heaviest yet on the capital.

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“It’s really very scary,” a Tehran businessman who gave his first name as Robert told AFP. “Checkpoints have been put up in place in the city to prevent looting and ensure control,” the 60-year-old said as he crossed into Armenia. Both Israel and the US warned on Friday they were escalating their attacks on Iran.

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