Trump demands Iran’s unconditional surrender as war enters second week and civilian toll rises
An Iranian flag is planted in the rubble of a police station, damaged in airstrikes in Tehran, Iran. PHOTO: REUTERS
Israel says it is intercepting a new wave of Iranian missile attacks, as it launched ‘broad-scale’ strikes on Tehran on Saturday. US President Donald Trump said only Iran’s unconditional surrender would bring an end to the escalating Middle East war.
Israel said early Saturday that it is working to intercept fresh missile attacks from Iran. The Israeli military said air defences were “operating to intercept the threat.”
An AFP journalist heard a blast in Jerusalem following the warnings of an Iranian attack.
Israeli news outlet Haaretz reported that sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, central Israel and the West Bank. No casualties were reported.
Social media footage and photos provided by international news agencies showed Mehrabad Airport on fire after Israel’s military announced a new round of strikes.
Mehrabad Airport is located within Tehran’s city limits. The airport, owned by the Iranian government, is considered the busiest in the country. It only has domestic flights, in contrast with Imam Khomeini International Airport, located outside the city.
The Israeli military said it has begun a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on Iran’s capital, Tehran. The attacks came after Iran fired a round of missiles at Israel.
Iranian state media then reported a blast in western Tehran after the Israeli military announcement.
The latest fighting comes as the US-Israel war with Iran enters its second week.
Read: Pakistan urges Iran to avoid Gulf attacks
Trump has demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday, a dramatic escalation of his demands a week into the war he launched alongside Israel, which could make it more difficult to negotiate a swift end to hostilities.
On Thursday, Trump had told Reuters in a telephone interview that he was demanding the right to help select Iran’s new supreme leader, to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed on the first day of the war.
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saied Iravani strongly condemned US President Donald Trump’s comments that he should play a role in picking the successor to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iravani said Trump’s remarks “constitute a clear violation of the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of states and enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.”
“Iran is a sovereign and independent state,” Iravani said. “It does not accept and will never allow any foreign power to interfere in its internal affairs.
“The selection of Iran’s leadership will take place strictly in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people, without any foreign interference,” he said.
At a UN press conference on Saturday, Iravani called the US-Israel attacks a “criminal war” and said their claims of targeting only military bases are a lie.
“According to the latest reports, at least 1,332 civilians, including women and children, have lost their lives so far… Thousands more have been injured, and the number continues to rise. Airports, schools, hospitals, health care centres, residential buildings, sports facilities, mosques, diplomatic police headquarters, and other civilian infrastructure have been deliberately targeted and destroyed,” he said.
#WATCH | Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani says, “… The US and Israeli regime continue a brutal and massive attack on Iran and its people… They deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure… Iranian cities are being… pic.twitter.com/eEIi1Qi9iG
— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2026
Read More: UN experts warn Jerusalem facing ‘irreversible de-Palestinisation’
According to international news media outlets, the US Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs announced it is approving $151.8 million (€130.55 million) in weapons sales to Israel.
JUST IN 🇺🇸🇮🇷: U.S. Approves $151.8M Emergency Bomb Sale to Israel During Iran War
They will drop these bombs on the people of the region in this Iran War.
Israel requested 12,000 BLU-110A/B 1,000-lb general-purpose bomb bodies along with munitions support.
Secretary of State… https://t.co/0uplh0lvQt pic.twitter.com/6yeHdUDuBH
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) March 7, 2026
US Central Command, responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said over 3,000 Iranian targets have been struck over the past week, including Revolutionary Guard headquarters, command-and-control centres, air defence systems, missile sites, navy warships and submarines.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States is “not concerned” about reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on US troop positions and movements.
While declining to confirm the reports, Hegseth, in an interview with CBS‘s “60 Minutes,” said: “We’re tracking everything.”
The renewed Israeli attacks on Tehran came a day after Israel intensified its air strikes on Lebanon, striking Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah holds sway, and Baalbeck in the east.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 217 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that a “humanitarian disaster is looming.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council said 300,000 people in the country had been forced to flee their homes.
Iran launched attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbors meanwhile, with Saudi Arabia saying it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired at the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, which houses US military personnel.
Crude oil prices surged on mounting fears about global supply disruption as the US-Israel war on Iran and Tehran’s pressure on the Strait of Hormuz upend the world’s energy and transport sectors.
The international benchmark oil contract, Brent North Sea crude, jumped to $92.69 per barrel on Friday, up 8.5 per cent on the day and nearly 30 per cent for the week.
With input from Web Desk
