Trump rules out talks in the absence of Iran’s “unconditional surrender” when Israel strikes Lebanon

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.” Israeli warplanes bombed Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and the Gulf states on the seventh day of the war.

He watches: With the intensification of US-Israeli strikes, Iran says it is no longer looking to negotiate

The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since the 2024 ceasefire that ended the last war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel in the early days of the latest conflict. More than 95,000 people fled the suburbs of Beirut and southern Lebanon after widespread Israeli warnings to evacuate.

The United States and Israel struck Iran with strikes targeting its military capabilities, leadership, and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines of the war have changed repeatedly, with the United States at times indicating that it seeks to overthrow the Iranian government or promote new leadership from within.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that after Iran surrenders, and “selects a great and acceptable leader(s),” the United States and its allies will help rebuild Iran, making it “bigger, better, and economically stronger than ever.”

The war escalated to affect more than a dozen countries across the Middle East and beyond, and caused oil prices to rise.

Read more: The US economy is already unstable. The war in Iran could increase this uncertainty

The Qatari Minister of Energy warned that this could “lead to the collapse of the world’s economies,” expecting that the widespread closure of Gulf energy exports would lead to a rise in the price of oil to $150 per barrel. Saad Al-Kaabi told the Financial Times that even if the war ended immediately, it could take “weeks to months” for normal exports to resume after an Iranian drone strike on Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas plant earlier in the war.

Trump once again urges Iranians to ‘take back’ their country

Trump’s latest comments are likely to raise more questions about the end of the war that the United States and Israel began a week ago, and which appears increasingly open.

On Thursday, Trump urged the Iranian people to “help take back their country,” and promised that the United States would grant them “immunity,” without going into details.

He also told the media that he should participate in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first blows of the war. Trump spoke disparagingly about Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei – the most likely candidate to replace his father – and described him as a “lightweight.”

Read more: Trump says he wants to participate in choosing the next Iranian leader

Iranian state television reported on Friday that the Leadership Council has begun discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will choose the new supreme leader.

Buildings associated with the 88-member religious body were attacked during the Israeli-US air strike campaign. Israel said it would target the next supreme leader if he posed a threat.

Violent strikes on Iran

The Israeli military said on Friday that it had launched a “large-scale wave of strikes” on the Iranian capital, Tehran, and that over the past week it had heavily bombed a large-scale underground bunker that Iran’s leaders intended to use during hostilities.

Eyewitnesses described the Israeli air strikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, in an area that includes several missile bases.

Meanwhile, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, all countries that host American forces. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Read more: Under the weight of air strikes, Iran launches a new wave of attacks against Israel and American bases

The war resulted in the deaths of at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six American soldiers were killed.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts in the conflict, without going into details.

The United States says it struck an Iranian drone carrier

The US military announced early Friday that it had struck an Iranian drone carrier, causing it to burst into flames.

The US Army’s Central Command published black-and-white footage of the burning carrier. The Iranian army did not immediately acknowledge the attack.

The drone carrier, IRIS Shahid Bagheri, is a converted container ship with a 180-meter runway for drones. Reports at the time of its opening in 2025 said that the ship could travel a distance of up to 22,000 nautical miles without the need to refuel in ports.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, described the carrier as “about the size of a World War II aircraft carrier” and said it was on fire.

Earlier in the week, an Iranian frigate was sunk by a US submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka as it was returning from an exercise hosted by the Indian Navy in which the US also joined. The Sri Lanka Navy rescued 32 crew members and recovered 87 bodies.

Iran targets countries that host American forces

Qatar said early Friday it had intercepted a drone attack targeting Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of US Central Command.

He watches: Iranian drone missile attacks on Gulf states risk dragging more countries into war

Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched early Friday toward Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh, which also hosts U.S. forces, a Saudi Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Sirens sounded in Bahrain, where the Ministry of Interior said that Iranian strikes targeted two hotels and a residential building. She added that there were no injuries. In Kuwait, where six American soldiers were killed on Sunday, the military said air defenses were activated when missile and drone attacks penetrated its airspace.

The United Arab Emirates said that three drones struck its territory, without elaborating.

The British ambassador to Bahrain said on Friday that the United Kingdom will help defend the country with its fighter jets. Ambassador Alistair Long’s announcement came a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he would send four more Royal Air Force Typhoon fighters to Qatar based on requests from allies for more assistance.

In Israel, explosions were heard in Tel Aviv early Friday morning after a warning of missiles coming from Iran, while air defense systems worked to intercept the missile barrage.

Israel strikes Lebanon with multiple air strikes around Beirut

Israel carried out at least 11 air strikes late Thursday and Friday morning, targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. The fire broke out near a gas station.

Read more: The Lebanese government and civilians are caught in the middle of a renewed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff. No injuries were reported immediately.

Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation, particularly what he described as “comprehensive and sweeping displacement orders” issued by Israel to civilians in Lebanon.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health said the death toll had risen to 123 since renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which hit Israel in the early days of the war.

Hezbollah’s military leadership on Friday urged its fighters not to retreat and “defend the nation,” casting the escalating war in religious terms and calling on them to “kill them wherever you find them.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam criticized both Israel and Hezbollah, saying that Lebanon is a country and people that “did not choose this war.”

Metz reported from Ramallah in the West Bank, Rising from Bangkok and Abu Al-Joud from Beirut. Seung Min Kim in Washington, Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Malak Harb and Bassem Marwa in Beirut contributed.