US President Donald Trump said his war with Iran may only end with its military and rulers wiped out, as Tehran moved on Sunday towards picking a new supreme leader while missiles and drones flew across the Middle East. Shortly after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One he was not interested in negotiating an end to the conflict that has roiled oil markets, hurt business and snarled global travel, US ally Israel announced fresh strikes across Iran that it said had hit critical fuel storage sites. “At some point, I don’t think there will be anybody left maybe to say, ‘We surrender,’ Trump said.
Smoke rises after a reported strike on Shahran fuel tanks, in Tehran. — Reuters
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates nd Bahrain reported Iranian drone attacks, with a huge fire engulfing a government office block in Kuwait. The US Embassy in Norway’s capital Oslo was also hit by an explosion early on Sunday, causing minor damage but no injuries, police said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. Saudi Arabia has told Tehran that continued Iranian attacks on the kingdom and its energy sector could push Riyadh to respond in kind, people familiar with the matter said.
In an apparent attempt to cool anger across the Gulf, Iran’s president apologised to neighbouring states for its attacks on US facilities in those countries on Saturday. He dismissed Trump’s earlier demand for the Islamic Republic’s unconditional surrender as “a dream,” but said its temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Women members of Iran’s Red Crescent society stand near smoke plumes, Tehran. — AFP
Pezeshkian’s comments faced backlash from some hardliners in Iran, prompting his office to reiterate that Iran’s military would respond firmly to attacks from US bases. The clerical body charged with choosing Iran’s next supreme leader could meet as soon as Sunday to name a successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an attack early in the conflict, Iranian media reported. A majority consensus over the successor has more or less been reached, said Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Mohammad Mehdi Mirbaqeri, according to the Mehr news agency.
The Israeli military, in a post on X, warned it would pursue every successor.
Trump has justified the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq by saying Tehran posed an imminent threat to the United States, without providing evidence. He has also said Iran was too close to being able to build a nuclear weapon. The US and Israel have discussed sending special forces into Iran to secure its stockpile of highly enriched uranium at a later stage of the war, Axios reported, citing four people with knowledge of the discussions. Asked about the possibility of sending ground troops to secure nuclear sites on Saturday, Trump said it was something they could do “later on.”
Aftermath of an Iranian missile strike, in central Israel. — Reuters
Huge explosions were heard in parts of Tehran, state media reported, while Israel said it had struck Iranian missile sites, command centres and fuel depots on Saturday. The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani. US forces were likely responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed scores of children, US officials said. But Trump, without citing evidence, told reporters on Saturday that Iran was responsible.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, standing behind Trump on Air Force One, said the matter was still under investigation. Iranian attacks have killed 10 people in Israel. At least six US service members have been killed, with Iran saying on Sunday it had struck US bases in Kuwait. Israel also launched fresh attacks in Lebanon on Saturday after Hezbollah fired across the border. Israel warned Lebanon of a “very heavy price” if it did not rein in Hezbollah fighters, as the death toll from Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since Monday rose to around 300.
US President Donald Trump salutes as members of a US Army team carry the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of a US soldier during a dignified transfer solemn event at Dover Air Force Base. — AFP
Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and disrupting air travel. Kuwait’s national oil company began cutting output on Saturday, adding to earlier oil and gas cuts from Iraq and Qatar. Oil prices have hit multi-year highs with the conflict effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz. — AFP
