Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel steps up strikes; UN urges urgent diplomacy
U.S. President Donald Trump said only Iran’s “unconditional surrender” would halt a spiraling Middle East war now in its seventh day, as Israel declared its forces were “crushing” the Iranian ruling system and regional fronts widened from Lebanon to the Gulf.
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The escalating conflict has already embroiled nations beyond the region, disrupted global energy and shipping, and unsettled areas once seen as relatively insulated from violence around the Gulf. With the vital Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked, U.S. crude prices jumped 11% after Trump’s remarks, underscoring mounting economic fallout.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The White House later said U.S. objectives in the war remain unchanged. Trump also pledged to help rebuild Iran’s economy if Tehran installs someone “acceptable” to him to replace Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed last weekend.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, warning of a “situation that could spiral beyond anyone’s control,” urged countries to begin “serious diplomatic negotiations.” But Trump, who has given varying reasons for launching the war, has opposed fresh talks.
Inside Iran, Israeli strikes intensified, with AFP journalists in Tehran describing some of the heaviest bombardments yet on the capital. Israel and the United States said they were escalating attacks, and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned strikes were “about to surge dramatically.” Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, said his forces were “crushing the Iranian terrorist regime.”
Iran’s Health Ministry said 926 people have been killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes; AFP said it could not independently verify the figure.
Iran has launched missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf states since the war began. AFP journalists in Tel Aviv reported hearing several blasts. In Israel, at least 10 people have been killed, according to first responders. The U.S. military has reported six personnel killed.
The conflict expanded sharply in Lebanon after Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy, fired missiles at Israel following Khamenei’s killing. Israel pounded Lebanon in response, including fresh strikes on Beirut’s battered southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold home to hundreds of thousands. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said a “humanitarian disaster is looming,” and the Norwegian Refugee Council reported 300,000 people displaced. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the death toll rose to 217. Two Ghanaian UN peacekeepers were critically wounded when their base in southern Lebanon was hit.
Iraq, long a proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, has also been pulled in. Several airports were hit, including a Baghdad airport complex that hosts a military base and a U.S. diplomatic facility, Iraqi authorities said. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned Iranian-backed fighters may target hotels in Iraqi Kurdistan frequented by foreigners. Shortly afterward, an explosion was heard in Erbil, and smoke rose from a hotel there, an AFP journalist reported.
Azerbaijan said it foiled a series of Iranian attacks on its territory, illustrating how the war’s reach is widening. The UN refugee agency declared a major humanitarian emergency.
Gulf states, long marketed as safe havens, have not been spared. Qatar said it intercepted a drone targeting a U.S. air base. Saudi Arabia reported destroying a cruise missile near the central Al-Kharj area. At least 13 people, seven of them civilians, have been killed in Gulf countries, including an 11-year-old girl in Kuwait, according to authorities.
Farther afield, the conflict spilled into the Indian Ocean, where a U.S. submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate off Sri Lanka’s coast. Governments scrambled to repatriate holidaymakers as airlines curtailed flights and missiles and drones crowded regional skies.
As fighting rages and diplomatic paths narrow, the UN’s plea for immediate talks stands in stark contrast to the hardening positions of the combatants. With oil surging, shipping lanes imperiled, and civilian tolls climbing from Tehran to Beirut, the risk of broader regional collapse is rising by the hour.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
