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UNITED STATES President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, a stance that could complicate diplomatic efforts to swiftly end the escalating conflict involving Israel and several countries across the Middle East.
Trump made the declaration on social media hours after Iran’s president revealed that several unnamed countries had begun mediation efforts aimed at ending the war.
“There will be no agreement with Iran except unconditional surrender. After that, the selection of a great and acceptable leader, together with many brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran out of the brink of destruction, making its economy bigger, better, and stronger than before,” Reuters reported Trump saying.
The demand for surrender comes as Israeli forces launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon, while Iran fired missiles toward Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
Trump’s stance could complicate efforts to achieve a rapid ceasefire in a conflict that has already disrupted global energy supplies and rattled financial markets.
Stock markets in Europe and the United States closed sharply lower, while oil futures surged to their highest levels since 2023 after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, restricting the flow of global energy shipments.
In a telephone interview with Reuters earlier this week, Trump said he believed the United States should have a role in selecting Iran’s next supreme leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war. The White House confirmed that discussions regarding potential successors were already underway.
“I know that there are several individuals being considered by US intelligence agencies and the US government,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, rejected the idea of foreign involvement in the process.
He said the country’s new leader would be chosen “in accordance with its constitutional procedures and solely based on the will of the Iranian people — without any foreign interference.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “several countries have begun mediation efforts,” although he did not identify the countries involved or provide further details.
“It must be emphasised that we are committed to lasting peace in the region, but we will not hesitate to defend the dignity and sovereignty of our nation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iran signalled that its military retaliation against Israel would intensify in the coming days.
According to Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV, a spokesperson for the operational unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Zolfaghari, said Israeli forces were attempting to hide military assets among civilian populations, but Iranian forces would continue to target them.
“The cowardly regime’s troops and military facilities are hiding among civilians and the public. Detection and attacks against the invaders will continue, and in the coming days, attacks will become more intense and widespread,” Zolfaghari said.
Iranian officials also claimed that missiles had struck targets in Tel Aviv during the latest wave of attacks.
Zolfaghari further said Iran’s air defence systems shot down a United States Air Force F-15E fighter jet on Thursday, along with four advanced reconnaissance and strike drones — Hermes 900 and MQ-9 — over western, south-western, and southern Iranian airspace.
More than 75 enemy drones had been intercepted since the US-Israel attacks began last Saturday, he added.
The Iran Revolutionary Guard also launched the 21st wave of Operation True Promise 4 early on Friday, deploying thousands of drones and advanced Kheibar missiles intended to penetrate Israel’s air defence systems. Missiles targeted central Tel Aviv, with two near-simultaneous explosions reportedly heard across the city.
The conflict has also expanded into Lebanon, where Israeli air strikes hit the Baalbek district in the country’s east.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least nine people were killed and 17 others wounded in an Israeli strike on the town of Nabi Sheet, while state media reported that at least 12 attacks were carried out in the wider area.
Rescue and debris-clearing operations were continuing as authorities searched for additional victims.
The fighting has drawn Lebanon further into the regional war after the Iran-backed group Hezbollah fired missiles towards Israel earlier this week in retaliation for Khamenei’s death.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the five-day conflict had killed at least 217 people and injured 798 others.
State media also reported that new Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday afternoon caused extensive damage, prompting residents to flee following Israeli evacuation warnings.
Israel said it had killed “more than 70” Hezbollah fighters during the attacks.
Live footage showed thick plumes of smoke rising from buildings in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that the displacement crisis could reach unprecedented levels.
“The impact of this displacement, both in terms of humanitarian and political consequences, may have never occurred before,” he said.
Authorities reported that more than 95,000 people had been forced to flee their homes since Israel expanded its strikes on Monday.
“Our country has been dragged into a destructive war that we did not seek and did not choose,” Salam added.
Earlier this week, the Lebanese government banned Hezbollah’s military activities after the group fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for Khamenei’s death, drawing Lebanon further into the regional conflict.
On Friday, Hezbollah issued a warning in Hebrew on its Telegram channel urging Israeli civilians to evacuate areas located within five kilometres of the border.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s military said two peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon were “seriously injured” and another suffered trauma after two missiles struck their headquarters in southern Lebanon. The source of the attack was not specified.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel’s attacks on the country, saying they were continuing to escalate and had now reached the stage of “direct attacks on UNIFIL.”
The Israeli military said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs over the past four days. It also claimed that Hezbollah had fired about 70 rockets into Israel since midnight and accused the Lebanese group of coordinating attacks with Iran earlier in the week.
Following evacuation warnings issued by Israel on Thursday afternoon, a mass exodus took place from the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area believed to house between 600,000 and 800,000 residents.
One resident, Mohammad, 39, fled with his family when the bombardment began on Monday. He returned briefly on Thursday to check his home and collect belongings just minutes before another evacuation warning was issued.
“The situation is very chaotic,” he said.
Another resident, Fatima al-Masri, 45, said she had fled the southern suburbs and taken shelter in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut for four days.
“We want food and water… we want to go to the toilet,” she said, adding that she came to the square because nearby schools used as shelters were already full. - March 7, 2026