The conflict centered on Iran continued into its second week on March 7, marked by a widening geographic footprint of military actions and growing doubts about any near-term path to resolution. U.S. President Donald Trump used social media to declare he would accept nothing less than Iran's "unconditional surrender," remarks that followed reports of nascent mediation efforts by unspecified countries and came after a week of strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran.
Trump's social media post, issued late on Friday, read in full: "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" He added that, after such a surrender and "the selection of a GREAT & 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."
The president's public statements have varied on the objectives of the military campaign, introducing the prospect of a protracted regional conflict that has already spilled well beyond Iran's borders. Financial markets reacted quickly - European and U.S. stock indexes fell and oil prices rose to multi-year highs - as the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed, disrupting a critical shipping lane for global energy supplies.
Iran has responded by striking at Israel and at several Gulf states that host U.S. military installations. Within Israel, air defenses were activated as explosions were audible while systems engaged to intercept incoming Iranian fire. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia all reported new drone and missile attacks linked to the broader campaign.
On the Lebanese front, Israel expanded operations significantly, directing heavy bombardment at Beirut and ordering an unprecedented evacuation of the city's entire southern suburbs. The Israeli military said it has extended its bombing campaign into Lebanon with the stated aim of rooting out Hezbollah, the Shi'ite militia allied with Iran. Hezbollah had fired on Israel earlier in the week in what it described as retaliation for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The human toll and displacement inside Lebanon have been acute. "We're sleeping here in the streets - some in cars, some on the street, some on the beach," said Jamal Seifeddin, 43, who fled the southern suburbs and spent the night in Beirut's downtown area. The Norwegian Refugee Council has estimated that roughly 300,000 people were displaced in Lebanon over the preceding four days.
Israel also launched a fresh round of strikes on Iran. Officials said 50 Israeli warplanes hit a bunker that was still in use by Iran's leadership beneath what was described as the destroyed Tehran compound of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Early on Saturday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Mehrabad Airport in Tehran had been struck. There was no immediate comment from Iran's Revolutionary Guard or from Hezbollah regarding that report.
The Israeli military stated that during the first week of the campaign it had destroyed roughly 80% of Iran's air-defense systems and had disabled more than 60% of the country's missile launchers.
On the diplomatic front, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on social media: "Some countries have begun mediation efforts." He offered no further details and did not identify the countries involved. The announcement briefly raised the faint possibility of a diplomatic track, but Mr. Trump's uncompromising rhetoric complicated immediate prospects for negotiations.
In parallel, Iran's U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, told reporters that any new leadership would be chosen "in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people - without any foreign interference." His remarks came after Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview that he must have a say in selecting Iran's new supreme leader to replace Khamenei, whom the administration says was killed on the first day of the war.
Iran has cast the conflict as an unprovoked attack and has called the killing of Khamenei an assassination. Israel has openly stated that it seeks to overturn Iran's ruling system. According to three sources familiar with Israel's discussions with Iranian Kurdish factions, Israel has bombed parts of western Iran to back Kurdish militias that hope to seize towns near the frontier amid the turmoil.
The war has also affected intelligence and military logistics. A U.S. news report, citing three officials familiar with intelligence, said Russia has provided Iran with locations of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East after Iran's own ability to locate U.S. forces was reportedly degraded. Russian missions in the United States did not immediately respond to requests for comment on that report.
Back in Washington, President Trump met with executives from seven defense contractors on Friday. He later said they had agreed to speed up weapons production. The administration has been pressing industry as supplies have been drawn down by recent operations, and a White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said the U.S. possessed sufficient weapons stockpiles to meet its Iran operations, which she estimated would take "about four to six weeks to complete."
Civilian and military casualty figures reported during the week reflect the widening impact of the hostilities. Iran's U.N. ambassador, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said at least 1,332 people have been killed in Iran since strikes by the United States and Israel began on February 28. The Lebanese health ministry reported 123 people killed and 683 wounded as a result of Israeli attacks. Iranian strikes have killed 11 people in Israel since the conflict began, and at least six U.S. service members have been killed.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that military investigators believed it was likely U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on the first day of the war. The investigators had not reached a final conclusion.
The near-term outlook remains uncertain. Statements from leaders and shifting military activity signal both the potential for continued escalation and the presence of limited diplomatic efforts that have yet to be publicly detailed. Markets and energy flows reacted sharply to those developments, while governments and militaries in the region have continued operations on multiple fronts.