US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that Iran would be hit “very hard” as tensions escalated in the ongoing war, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that Tehran would never surrender despite a new wave of US and Israeli air strikes.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Iran could face further destruction because of its actions. “Today Iran will be hit very hard,” he wrote, adding that areas and groups not previously considered targets could now face “complete destruction.”
His remarks came as Israeli forces carried out some of the largest air raids since the conflict began last week, targeting a military academy, an underground command centre and a missile storage facility in Iran.
Images from Tehran showed thick smoke rising from the city’s Mehrabad International Airport after pre-dawn strikes triggered fires in parts of the airport complex.
In response, Iranian President Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone during a televised address, rejecting Trump’s demand for “unconditional surrender”.
“Iran’s enemies must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” he said.
Despite sustained bombardment of its military infrastructure over the past week, Iran continued retaliatory strikes, launching missiles and drones across the region.
Air raid sirens and explosions were reported in Jerusalem as well as Gulf cities including Dubai and Manama. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards an air base near Riyadh that houses US military personnel.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defences intercepted 15 ballistic missiles and 119 drones on Saturday. Video footage circulating online showed a projectile crashing near Dubai airport, followed by an explosion close to airport buildings and parked aircraft.
Jordan also accused Iran of targeting “vital installations” in the kingdom with missiles and drones over the past week.
Tehran sought to reassure Gulf neighbours hosting US military bases, with Pezeshkian saying Iran would only target their territory if it was used to launch attacks against the country.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed to have fired on an oil tanker attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global energy shipments that Tehran has effectively shut during the conflict.
West Asia conflict: Human toll rising
Now entering its second week, the conflict began with joint US and Israeli air strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Damage across Iran has continued to mount, with residents in Tehran reporting growing anxiety and a heavy security presence in the capital.
The Iranian health ministry said at least 926 civilians had been killed and around 6,000 injured, though the figures could not be independently verified.
Israel has also intensified attacks in Lebanon, repeatedly bombing Beirut’s southern suburbs where the Iran-backed Hezbollah group operates.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli air strikes had killed at least 217 people over the past week, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that the country faces a looming humanitarian disaster.
The war’s impact has spread far beyond the immediate conflict zone. Global stock markets have fallen and oil prices have surged amid fears the fighting could disrupt supplies from the Gulf region.
Trump has ruled out negotiations with Tehran, insisting that “there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.”
He has also suggested helping rebuild Iran’s economy if a new leadership “acceptable” to Washington replaces the country’s late supreme leader.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, rejected the idea, saying the selection of Iran’s leadership would be decided solely by the Iranian people without foreign interference.
Meanwhile, Russia has called for an immediate ceasefire. President Vladimir Putin raised the issue in a phone call with Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said.
The conflict has already claimed the lives of six US service members, with Trump expected to attend a transfer ceremony for their bodies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
(With AFP inputs)