International Trump vows ‘no deal’ with Iran except ‘unconditional surrender’ by Laura Kelly - 03/06/26 9:31 AM ET by Laura Kelly - 03/06/26 9:31 AM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING President Trump on Friday called for Iran’s unconditional surrender to end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel last week. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump posted to Truth Social. “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,” he wrote. ‘IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’ Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president added. Those remarks come a day after the president demanded that he be involved in choosing Iran’s next leader, after the U.S. and Israel killed the country’s top official, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of the country’s senior leadership.    The war has engulfed regional neighbors in the fighting, disrupted the global economy, killed scores of people and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers.  Trump’s demands come as Iran’s 88-member Assembly of Experts is voting on the next supreme leader, who holds ultimate authority in the country over its political and military decisions, foreign policy and control of information in the country.  Trump spoke out against the likely election of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, as a “lightweight”,  in remarks to Axios . Trump told the outlet he wants a leader “who will bring harmony and peace.” The Hill reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations for comment. Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has projected defiance in statements and said Sunday that Iran had prepared itself for a long war. The New York Times, however,  reported that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence had reached out indirectly to the CIA in the early days of the war to discuss terms for ending the conflict, although U.S. officials were reportedly skeptical.  Trump has not ruled out sending U.S. ground troops into Iran, something that could be necessary to secure a complete surrender by Iran. Demanding Iran’s complete surrender raises the question of what role America’s military would play in determining what a surrender looks like or which satisfies the president.  The House on Thursday voted down an effort to halt the war, with a small bloc of Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to kill the measure. The Senate on Wednesday voted down a similar measure, largely along party lines.  The U.S. and Israel have moved to a next phase of the campaign against Iran over the past few days, according to an analysis by the Institute of War, targeting Iranian defense industrial assets, and specifically missile production capabilities. Initial strikes by Israel and the U.S. killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, and suppressed Iranian air defenses and ballistic missile launching sites. The U.S. has also carried out strikes against Iran’s naval ports and ships and expanded strikes across the region to sink an Iranian warship in waters near Sri Lanka.  Iran has retaliated with ballistic missiles and one-way attack drones targeting Israel and U.S. forces stationed across Gulf and Arab countries in the region. The Iranian attacks into Gulf and Arab states have also hit civilian areas. Hundreds of thousands of travelers have been caught in the crossfire, with flights canceled and airports suffering damage from strikes and halting operations. A few days after the war was launched, the State Department said it would organize evacuation plans for Americans stranded amid the war.  More than a thousand people have so far been killed, with the death toll in Iran reported to be at least 1,230 people, but that does not distinguish between civilians and Iranian armed forces. At least 175 school girls were killed in a military strike, according to Iranian state media. The strike was likely carried out by the U.S.,  according to a U.S. investigation, Reuters reported .  At least six U.S. service members have been killed in a strike on a facility in Kuwait. More than 100 people have been killed across the region, including soldiers, from Iranian missile and drone strikes.  The war has upended global shipping and spiked oil prices. Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi  told the Financial Times  the Middle East war could “bring down the economies of the world,” adding that Gulf energy exporters would shut down production within days and drive oil to $150 a b