US President Donald Trump said Friday that only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” would end the escalating Middle East war, as global oil prices surged amid fears of major supply disruptions, reports AFP.
The conflict has expanded rapidly across the region, with Israel intensifying air strikes on Lebanon and announcing “broad-scale” attacks on Tehran.
The United States Central Command said more than 3,000 Iranian targets had been struck during the first week of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
The war has drawn in countries beyond the immediate conflict zone, disrupted global energy and transport networks and spread instability across normally calm areas of the Gulf.
Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, called for “serious diplomatic negotiations” and warned the crisis could become “a situation that could spiral beyond anyone’s control.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced support for an “immediate” ceasefire during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the Kremlin.
Trump, who has offered varying explanations for launching the military campaign a week ago, rejected renewed negotiations with Tehran.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” he wrote on Truth Social.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that once Iran no longer posed a threat to the United States and US objectives were achieved, “Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.”
Trump also pledged to help rebuild Iran’s economy if the country installs a leader “acceptable” to Washington to replace its supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed last weekend.
Oil markets have reacted sharply to the growing conflict, particularly as the vital shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively been blocked.
The global benchmark Brent North Sea crude climbed to $92.69 per barrel on Friday, rising 8.5 percent in a single day and nearly 30 percent over the week.
The US military said its campaign has targeted Iranian command-and-control centers, air defence systems, missile launch sites and naval assets including warships and submarines.
Six US service members have been killed in the fighting. Trump is expected to attend the return of their remains at a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday.
Israel has also intensified its strikes in Lebanon, targeting southern suburbs of Beirut where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah holds strong influence.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the death toll from Israeli strikes has risen to 217 people.
Israel also struck the town of Nabi Sheet in the eastern Baalbek District, killing at least nine people, according to the ministry.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that a “humanitarian disaster is looming,” while the Norwegian Refugee Council said about 300,000 people in Lebanon had been displaced.
Three peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon were wounded when their base in southern Lebanon was struck Friday, according to the UN mission and the Ghana Armed Forces.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Israel of targeting the peacekeepers, while French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack as “unacceptable.”
Tehran endured one of the heaviest days of Israeli bombardment yet on Friday, according to AFP journalists in the Iranian capital.
“It’s really very scary,” a Tehran businessman identified only as Robert told AFP.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that strikes on Iran would “surge dramatically,” while Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said his country’s forces were “crushing the Iranian terrorist regime.”
Iran’s health ministry said US and Israeli strikes have killed 926 people in the country, although the figure could not be independently verified.
Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and several Gulf states. AFP journalists in Tel Aviv reported hearing multiple explosions on Friday.
At least 10 people have been killed in Israel, according to emergency responders.
Qatar said it was targeted by 10 Iranian drones on Friday, nine of which were intercepted while the tenth landed in an uninhabited area.
Saudi Arabia also reported intercepting a cruise missile.
Several airports in Iraq were hit in attacks on Friday, including a complex in Baghdad that hosts a military base and a US diplomatic facility, Iraqi authorities said.
The US embassy warned that Iran-backed fighters might target hotels in the Kurdistan Region frequented by foreigners.
Shortly afterward, an explosion was reported in the city of Erbil, with smoke seen rising from a hotel building.
Thirteen people, including seven civilians, have been killed in Gulf countries since the war began.
Among them was 11-year-old Elena Abdullah Hussein in Kuwait.
Two hours before she died, the girl called her father at work to say she loved him.
“It was as if she was trying to say goodbye,” her father told AFP at her funeral.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
