U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday, a dramatic escalation one week into the war he launched alongside Israelthat could make it more difficult to negotiate a swift end to hostilities.
Trump made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of a diplomatic initiative to end the conflict, as Israel launched fresh attacks on Iran and Lebanon and Iran sent missiles into Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote. “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.”
Trump’s demand, and the likelihood that it would complicate any quick path to ending a conflict that has interrupted global energy supplies, rattled financial markets. European and U.S. stock indexes finished the day sharply lower, and oil futures hit their highest prices since 2023, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has constrained the flow of energy supplies.
Trump had told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday that he must have a say in selecting Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed on the war’s first day.
A White House spokeswoman said consideration was already underway.
“I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at,” Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told reporters on Friday that new leadership would be chosen “in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people – without any foreign interference.”
ISRAEL POUNDS BEIRUT AFTER MASS EVACUATION ORDER
On the ground, Israel pursued a major expansion of the war in Lebanon, pounding the capital Beirut on Friday after ordering an unprecedented evacuation of the entire southern suburbs of the city.
Israel said the targets included a Beirut command centre used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy unit, along with command centres that it said were used by the Hezbollah militant group.
There was no immediate comment from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard or Hezbollah.
Israel also launched a new wave of attacks on Iran, saying 50 of its warplanes had struck a bunker still being used by Iran’s leadership beneath Khamenei’s destroyed Tehran compound.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media: “Some countries have begun mediation efforts.” He did not identify the countries or provide further details.
“Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, but we have not the slightest hesitation in defending the dignity and authority of our country,” he wrote.
Israel has extended its bombing to Lebanon to root out Hezbollah, the Shi’ite militia allied to Iran that has been a dominant faction in Lebanese politics since the 1980s. Hezbollah fired on Israel this week to avenge the death of Khamenei.
“We’re sleeping here in the streets – some in cars, some on the street, some on the beach,” said Jamal Seifeddin, 43, who fled Beirut’s southern suburbs and spent the night on the streets in the downtown district. “No one even brought a blanket.”
Israel has intervened in Lebanon repeatedly over decades, most recently in 2024. But the ferocity of Friday’s strikes had little precedent.
About 300,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon in the past four days, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Inside Israel, explosions could be heard as Israeli defenses activated to shoot down incoming Iranian fire. The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia all reported fresh drone and missile attacks.
The Israeli military says it has destroyed 80% of Iran’s air-defense systems in the first week of the campaign and disabled more than 60% of its missile launchers.
Russia is providing Iran with locations of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East after Iran’s ability to locate U.S. forces was degraded, the Washington Post reported, citing three officials familiar with the intelligence.
Russian missions in the U.S. did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Meanwhile, Trump met with executives from seven defense contractors on Friday, who agreed to accelerate weapons production, the president said on social media. The administration has been pressuring contractors as Iran and other recent operations have drawn down supplies.
Leavitt said the U.S. has enough weapons stockpiles to meet the needs of its Iran operations, which she said would take about four to six weeks to complete.
‘WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO CHOOSE THAT PERSON’, TRUMP SAYS
In insisting on the right to help choose Iran’s next leader – meant to be a senior Shi’ite Muslim cleric selected by a panel of religious experts – Trump made his most explicit demand for control over a country of more than 90 million people.
Israel has said openly that it aims to overthrow Iran’s ruling system. It has been bombing parts of western Iran to support Iranian Kurdish militias who hope to exploit the war to seize towns near the frontier, according to three sources familiar with Israel’s talks with the factions.
Iran has cast the war as an unprovoked attack and describes the killing of its leader, Khamenei, as an assassination. It says the panel that will choose the new leader is conducting its work.
