Trump insists nothing short of Iran's complete capitulation will bring conflict to a close

United States President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the only way to end the escalating Middle East war is for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, as Israel claimed its forces were overpowering the Iranian ruling system.

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The conflict, now in its seventh day, has drawn in nations beyond the region, disrupted the global energy and transport sectors, and brought turmoil to typically peaceful areas around the Gulf.

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The war has spread to Lebanon, where the prime minister warned of an impending humanitarian disaster as the death toll increased and tens of thousands fled intense Israeli strikes.

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With the world facing a situation that could spiral beyond control, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for countries to initiate serious diplomatic negotiations.

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However, Trump, who has provided varying reasons for starting the war, has opposed fresh talks, stating that there will be no deal with Iran except for unconditional surrender, as written on his Truth Social platform.

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Despite Trump's comments, the White House later maintained that US aims for the war remain unchanged, with Trump also promising to help rebuild the country's economy if Tehran installs a leader acceptable to him to replace Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed last weekend.

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The main US crude oil price, already surging due to the blocked Strait of Hormuz, soared by 11 percent after Trump's comments.

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Tehran was heavily bombarded by Israeli strikes on Friday, with AFP journalists describing it as one of the heaviest days of attacks on the Iranian capital, prompting a Tehran businessman named Robert to say, "It's really very scary."

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Israel and the US have announced that they will escalate their attacks on Iran, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warning that strikes are about to surge dramatically, and Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir stating that his country's forces are crushing the Iranian terrorist regime.

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According to Iran's health ministry, the US and Israeli strikes have killed 926 people, although this number could not be independently verified by AFP, while in Israel, at least 10 people have been killed, and the US military has reported the deaths of six personnel.

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The conflict has drawn in Lebanon after Tehran's proxy group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel in response to Khamenei's killing, prompting Israeli forces to pound the country, including fresh strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.

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Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that a humanitarian disaster is looming, while the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that 300,000 people in the country have been forced to flee, and the country's health ministry reported that the death toll rose to 217 on Friday.

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Two UN Ghanaian peacekeepers were critically wounded when their base in southern Lebanon was hit on Friday, as residents fled en masse after an Israeli order to evacuate the suburbs immediately.

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Iraq has also been dragged into the war, with several airports hit by attacks on Friday, including a Baghdad airport complex that hosts a military base and a US diplomatic facility, according to Iraqi authorities.

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The US embassy in Baghdad warned that Iranian-backed fighters may target hotels in Iraqi Kurdistan frequented by foreigners, and an explosion was heard in the city of Erbil, with smoke seen rising from a hotel there, as reported by an AFP journalist.

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Azerbaijan has become caught up in the war, stating that it prevented a series of Iranian attacks on its territory, and the United Nations refugee agency declared the crisis a major humanitarian emergency on Friday.

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The war has not spared the rich countries of the Gulf, with Qatar intercepting a drone attack on a US air base on its territory, and Saudi Arabia destroying a cruise missile near the central Al-Kharj area.

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Thirteen people, including seven civilians, have been killed in Gulf countries since the war began, including an 11-year-old girl, Elena Abdullah Hussein, in Kuwait, who called her father at work to tell him she loved him two hours before she died, as if she was trying to say goodbye, according to her father Abdullah Hussein.

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The conflict has expanded as far as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate, and nations have scrambled to repatriate holidaymakers in the Gulf caught up in the fighting, with air traffic severely limited due to missiles and drones dominating the skies above the region.