Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iran to "surrender unconditionally" yesterday, a week after he launched a war with Israel, a stance that could make a quick end to the conflict increasingly difficult to negotiate.
According to Thai News Agency, President Trump made the comments via social media just hours after the Iranian president indicated that some countries had begun attempting to mediate, a first sign of diplomatic measures to end the conflict. This comes as Israel continues its latest attacks on Iran and Lebanon, while Iran fires missiles at Israel and Gulf states where US bases are located.
In his message, President Trump stated that there would be no deal with Iran except through unconditional surrender. He added that once a suitable and acceptable leader was selected, the United States and its allies would work tirelessly to pull Iran back from the brink of destruction and build it into a stronger, more economically powerful nation than ever before.
However, the demands of the US leader and the possibility of difficulties in resolving the conflict, which would impact global energy supplies, sent panic into financial markets. Stock indices in both Europe and the US closed sharply lower, while oil futures surged to their highest levels since 2023 due to the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which restricted energy shipments.
Furthermore, President Trump stated that the Iranian Army, Navy, communications systems, and leadership were all gone, noting that the first two leadership groups were eliminated and a third was underway. He added that the Air Force was completely destroyed and 32 Iranian warships were sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Trump also declined to comment on a reporter's question about possible Russian involvement in assisting the Iranian attack, calling it an unproductive question.