UNITED STATE: US President Donald Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as the American and Israeli military continued to launch strikes.
Trump said the US and allies would make Iran “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before” after it picked “acceptable” new leadership.
With the war close to entering a second week, it remains unclear who will lead Iran after the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a week ago, or on what terms the US would end its offensive against Tehran, which has triggered region-wide retaliatory strikes.
Speaking on Friday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the administration expected military operations to last four to six weeks.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.
“IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).”
Trump’s latest intervention suggested he was not interested in a negotiated settlement to the war, though he stopped short of calling for regime change.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Trump has avoided the term “regime change”, a sign he may be wary of drawing parallels between the attack on Iran and past US wars in the Middle East that he criticised before entering politics.
Other senior administration officials have made that argument on Trump’s behalf in recent days, saying the president will not let the US get drawn into a protracted, open-ended conflict like in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Asked about the duration of the offensive, Leavitt told reporters: “We expect [the war] to last about 4 to 6 weeks, and we are well on our way to achieving those objectives, annihilating Iran’s navy.”
She also said Trump did not want Iran to be led by “a radical terrorist or a regime that chants death to America”.
The White House press secretary told reporters: “[Trump] wants to take an interest in and pursuing who the next leader of the Iranian country is going to be. And that has yet to be seen, the president is discussing it.”
Earlier this week, Trump told US outlet Axios he expected to play a role in the selection of Iran’s next leader.
Responding to reports that Khamenei’s son Mojtaba – a conservative close to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military wing – could be installed as leader, Trump said that would be “unacceptable”.
Donald Trump seeks influence on Iran’s leadership as conflict deepens
Trump has likened the situation in Iran to the US raid on Venezuela earlier this year, in which he removed the country’s leader from power and publicly backed a successor.
In January, the president ordered troops to seize Nicolás Maduro in a surprise operation, with the administration throwing its support behind his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez. The two countries restored diplomatic relations on Thursday.
Elsewhere, three sources, including a senior American official with direct knowledge, told the BBC’s US news partner CBS News that Russia had provided intelligence on American positions to Iran.
Officials said the targeting information included the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East.
Asked about the report, Leavitt said it was “not making a difference”.
Russia has long been an ally of Iran. Tehran has provided Moscow with thousands of Shahed drones to be used by Russian troops during the last four years since President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Throughout that time, the US has provided Ukraine with weapons as well as – crucially – intelligence that has helped Ukrainian troops attack Russians.
Putin’s office said on Friday he has spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian over the phone, expressing his condolences for the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader, other government officials and civilians around the country in the US-Israeli strikes.
The Kremlin said Putin had reiterated Russia’s stance that the hostilities must end immediately, and that a diplomatic resolution must be found.
Pezeshkian expressed gratitude for Russia’s support and provided a detailed report of Iran’s developments, the statement said, adding that both Iran and Russia agreed to maintain communications with each other.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remained in dialogue with Iran’s leadership, but he declined to say whether the two countries were continuing military co-operation.
Asked about the claim of Russia helping Iran, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes programme that Trump is “well aware of who’s talking to who”.
As the war enters its second week it has expanded across the Middle East after Iran-backed Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel, which prompted the Israeli government to launch strikes against Lebanon on Monday.
On Friday large explosions were seen in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Prior to the strikes the Israeli military ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave the south of the city.
Hezbollah has also warned Israelis living within 5km (three miles) of the Lebanese border to leave their homes.
As part of Iran’s retaliation against the US-Israel attacks, drone and missile strikes have also been reported in countries hosting US bases including Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE and Kuwait – and US-allied Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Elsewhere, a British military base in Cyprus was struck by a drone on Sunday, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
