Iran vows to defend its ‘dignity and sovereignty’

No deal with Iran except ‘unconditional surrender’, says Trump

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN:  United States President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday and ruled out any deal, a dramatic escalation of his demands a week into the war he launched alongside Israel.

Trump made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts in one of the first signals of any diplomatic initiative to end the conflict.

“After that, and the selection of a great and acceptable leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

On Thursday, Trump said that he was demanding the right to help select Iran’s new supreme leader, to replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the war’s first day.

Israel pounded the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday after ordering an unprecedented evacuation of the entire southern suburbs of the city, in a major expansion of the war.

It carried out heavy air strikes on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut and started a “broad-scale” wave of attacks against infrastructure in Tehran, while Iran said it targeted the heart of Tel Aviv with missiles.

Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian revealed that some countries had begun mediation efforts as the Islamic Republic continued its retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military bases in the Gulf region.

“Some countries have begun efforts at mediation,” Pezeshkian wrote in a post on his official X handle.

“Our response to them is clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, but we have not the slightest doubt in defending the dignity and sovereignty of our country,” he added. “The intended audience for mediation should be those who, by underestimating the Iranian people, have stoked the flames.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Kheibar missiles were fired towards Tel Aviv as part of the 21st wave of its “Operation True Promise 4″. In a statement, the IRGC said the wave began with a combined missile and drone operation targeting sites in the heart of Tel Aviv.

Overnight, Iranian drones attacked the US Al Udied airbase in Qatar, the biggest US base in the Middle East, Qatari officials said. There were no reported casualties.

The IRGC said Iranian forces had targeted the Ramat David air base and a radar site in Israel, the Al-Adiri camp in Kuwait where US forces are stationed, and a drone attack on a base hosting US troops in Erbil, Iraq.

A Guards spokesperson said new initiatives and weapons would soon be deployed to confront Israeli and U.S. aggression, without giving details.

“This was an ‘existential war’ for Iran, leaving us with no choice but to respond wherever American attacks originate from,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said at the Raisina Dialogues conference in New Delhi on Friday.

Hezbollah, in a message published in Hebrew on its Telegram channel early on Friday, warned Israelis to leave towns within five kilometres of the border.

“Your military’s aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the expulsion campaign it is carrying out will not go unchallenged,” Hezbollah said.

At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the fighting began a week ago, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Monitoring Desk