Trump rules out talks absent Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as Israel strikes Lebanon

Trump rules out talks absent Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as 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 pounded Beirut and Tehran as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war.

WATCH: As U.S.-Israeli strikes intensify, Iran says it’s no longer looking to negotiate

The strikes in Lebanon were the heaviest since a 2024 ceasefire ended the last war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, who fired rockets at Israel in the opening days of the latest conflict. More than 95,000 people have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that after Iran’s surrender, “and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” that the U.S. and its allies would help rebuild Iran, making it “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

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

Qatar’s energy minister warned that it could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to $150 a barrel. Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times newspaper that even if the war ended immediately it could take “weeks to months” to resume normal exports after an Iranian drone strike on Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas plant earlier in the war.

Trump again urges Iranians to ‘take back’ their country

Trump’s latest comments were likely to raise further questions about the endgame of the war launched a week ago by the United States and Israel, which appears increasingly open-ended.

On Thursday, Trump urged the Iranian people to “help take back your country,” promising the U.S. would grant them “immunity,” without elaborating.

He also told media outlets that he should be involved in choosing Iran’s new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei — a front-runner to replace his father — calling him “a lightweight.”