Trump seeks Iran's 'unconditional surrender' as war escalates

WASHINGTON — Israel and the United States are ratcheting up pressure on Iran, sparking fresh speculation that Washington could be preparing to join in the attack launched by its closest Middle East ally.

President Donald Trump said he wants a permanent end to Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon, after an early departure from the Group of Seven leaders meeting in Canada spurred questions about whether the U.S. seeks to end the conflict or escalate it.

“We know exactly where the so-called “Supreme Leader” is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday. But he said that “our patience is wearing thin” and moments later sent another two-word post: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

Israel is preparing to intensify its strikes on Tehran on Tuesday, potentially escalating a war that has seen the sworn enemies trade missile salvos for five days in a row. The U.S. also is weighing whether to expand its involvement.

“Today we will attack very significant targets in Tehran,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said, adding that residents should evacuate. Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said that, while it’s too early to assess the success of the current campaign in Iran, strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities are “deepening” every day.

“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” Trump posted on social media Tuesday, crediting U.S. military equipment for helping Israel gain air superiority. Reuters reported that the U.S. military was deploying more fighters and other warplanes to the region.

Katz didn’t elaborate on what targets Israel might aim to hit and Trump hasn’t clearly spelled out his next steps. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday on X that the president has shown “remarkable restraint in keeping our military’s focus on protecting our troops and protecting our citizens” — but added that he “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment.”

While global markets have calmed since hostilities started Friday with Israel’s initial wave of bombings, there are still widespread fears the war will spread to other countries in the oil- and gas-producing region.

Trump’s exit from the G-7 followed another 24 hours of intense bombardments, with Iran firing ballistic missiles and Israel striking targets across the Islamic Republic, including the capital of Tehran. The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is sailing to the Middle East ahead of schedule, marking the first significant move of American military assets to the region since Friday.

New satellite images suggest Israeli strikes damaged underground uranium-enrichment facilities at Natanz, Iran’s primary nuclear-fuel production site, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a post on X. The International Atomic Energy Agency has yet to detect damage at Iran’s other underground enrichment site in Fordow, according to the statement.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime advocate of war against Iran, said he “100% supports” U.S. participation in striking Fordow.

“I’m all in for destroying their nuclear program. You can’t do it without destroying Fordow,” he told reporters in Washington. “If it takes bombs, bunker-buster bombs, so be it. If we need to fly with Israel, so be it.” Graham added that “the window for diplomacy has passed, we’re in the land of force.”

Israel has sought to draw the U.S. — which has provided defensive support against Iranian missile fire — deeper into the conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that the countries share a common enemy in Iran, and that it’s in America’s interest to support Israel.

Trump has left open the possibility of further talks on Iran’s atomic activities after five earlier rounds, but continued to hammer the idea that Tehran is at fault for not having already agreed to a deal that would have prevented Israel’s attacks.

The president told reporters that he “may” send a high-level official, such as special envoy Steven Witkoff or Vance, to meet with Iran, adding that “it depends what happens when I get back.”

“I told them to do the deal, they should have done the deal,” Trump said when asked if he’s open to negotiating with Iran. “So I don’t know,” he continued. “I’m not too much in the mood to negotiate.”

Israel said it saw a drop-off in Iranian fire on Tuesday, with a military spokesperson saying “a few dozen” missiles had been launched since midnight compared with the hundreds seen over the weekend.

Still, Israel’s Oil Refineries Ltd. shut down its refinery after the complex was damaged and three employees were killed, the company said Monday. The site has a peak production capacity of close to 200,000 barrels of oil per day, with 70% of products distributed in the Israeli market, according to the company’s website.

Israeli petrol station chain Sonol, which has 245 gasoline stations in the country, warned Tuesday that the closure of the Haifa refinery will likely cause disruptions to fuel supply to its Israeli customers, according to the Globes newspaper.

Long-standing tensions between Iran and Israel erupted into open fighting last week, when Israel launched surprise attacks on Iranian military and nuclear sites and killed senior commanders and atomic scientists. Since then, it has achieved air superiority over much of Iran, allowing it to bomb major cities and infrastructure at will.

For Iran’s government, the showdown poses a strategic dilemma. It can’t risk appearing weak, yet its retaliatory options are shrinking. Proxy forces it supports across the region have been largely degraded by Israeli wars since October 2023.

More than 200 people have been killed in Iran by Israel’s strikes, according to the last official tally from the Iranian government. In Israel, the government has said 24 people have been killed — the same number reported the day prior — and more than 600 injured.

Oil prices have climbed in the past week as the conflict escalated, raising concerns about a wider hit to the global economy. Many analysts say Iran has the ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy trade route. Qatar on Tuesday asked liquefied natural gas vessels to wait outside the strait until they’re ready to load amid the escalating tensions.

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(With assistance from Alisa Odenheimer, Jonathan Tirone, Dan Williams and Steven T. Dennis.)