Washington, United States. Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday, a week into the war he launched alongside Israel, sending European and US markets sharply lower and complicating early signs of diplomatic movement to end the conflict.
Trump’s demand and comments on Iran’s leadership
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on social media. “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 also pressed his demand, first stated in a Reuters interview on Thursday, for the right to help choose Iran’s next supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the war’s first day. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that candidates were already being considered. “I know there’s a number of people that our intelligence agencies and the United States government are looking at, but I won’t get any further on that,” she said.
Iran signals mediation efforts
The post came hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of any diplomatic initiative to end the war. “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,” Pezeshkian wrote on social media, without identifying the mediating countries.
Strikes in Beirut and Tehran
On the ground, Israel ordered an unprecedented evacuation of the entire southern suburbs of Beirut before pounding the capital on Friday. It said it had struck a command centre used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy unit, along with Hezbollah command centres. There was no immediate comment from either the IRGC or Hezbollah.
Israel also said 50 of its warplanes struck a bunker beneath Khamenei’s destroyed Tehran compound, still being used by Iran’s leadership. The ferocity of Friday’s strikes had little precedent, according to Reuters.
Displacement and regional attacks
About 300,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon over the past four days, the Norwegian Refugee Council said.
“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. “No one even brought a blanket.”
Gulf states including the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia all reported fresh drone and missile attacks. Inside Israel, explosions were heard as air defences intercepted incoming Iranian fire.
Reported casualty figures
At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the US and Israel launched strikes on 28 February, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Lebanon’s health ministry reported 123 people killed and 683 wounded from Israeli attacks. Iranian strikes have killed 11 people in Israel.
How do you think the reported mediation efforts could affect the conflict’s trajectory?