U.S. President Donald Trump demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" on Friday, a dramatic escalation one week into the war he launched alongside Israel that could make it more difficult to negotiate a swift end to hostilities.
Trump made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran's president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of a diplomatic initiative to end the conflict, as Israel launched fresh attacks on Iran and Lebanon and Iran sent missiles into Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.
"There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" Trump wrote. "After that, 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."
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