By Maya Jbeili, Hamira Pamuk, and Bisha Majid
Beirut/Washington/Jerusalem – The escalating conflict involving Iran entered its second week on Saturday, March 7, with the path to de-escalation remaining unclear. U.S. President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Tehran, even as Israel engaged in fresh exchanges of fire with Iran and Lebanon. The situation underscores growing regional instability and its potential to disrupt global markets.
Trump’s comments, made on Friday, March 6, followed reports that unnamed countries had begun mediation efforts, briefly raising hopes for a diplomatic resolution after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran a week prior.
“There will be no deal with Iran unless it is unconditional surrender!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He added, “After that, and after the selection of a great and acceptable leader (or leaders), we and many of our wonderful, courageous allies and partners will work very hard to help Iran from falling off a cliff and to make it stronger and economically better than ever before.”
*Expanding Conflict
Trump offered conflicting explanations regarding the war’s objectives, fueling concerns about a potential broadening of the conflict, which has already extended beyond Iran’s borders and rattled global financial markets, driving up oil prices.
In response to the initial attacks, Iran targeted Israel and several Gulf states hosting American military bases.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, stated that U.S. And Israeli attacks had killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and injured thousands. Israel reported that Iranian attacks had resulted in 11 deaths, while the United States confirmed at least six of its soldiers were killed.
Early Saturday, March 7, rockets were observed heading toward Israel, with the Israeli military reporting they had detected launches from Iran. Explosions were heard as Israel’s air defense systems activated to intercept the Iranian rockets.
Shortly after the attack, the Israeli military announced it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Israel also struck neighboring Lebanon, stating it was targeting sites linked to Iran and Hezbollah.
Tasnim news agency reported that Mehrabad Airport in Tehran was targeted. No immediate comment was available from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard or Hezbollah.
FlightRadar24 reported that landing operations at Dubai International Airport had resumed.
On Friday, Israel said 50 warplanes bombed a bunker in Iran still used by its leaders, located under the compound of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was reportedly destroyed.
Israel expanded the scope of its strikes to include Lebanon, bombing Beirut on Friday after issuing unprecedented evacuation warnings for all of southern Beirut. Israel stated its strikes on Lebanon aim to eliminate Hezbollah, the dominant political force in Lebanon since the 1980s.
Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel last week in response to the death of Khamenei on the first day of the war.
“We’re sleeping here on the streets, some in their cars, some on the road, some by the sea, we’re displaced. They displaced us and we left. This is what displacement is like… I’ve never slept on the ground in my life, I’m being forced to do it… without even a blanket, no one brought one… tomorrow or the day after,” said Jamal Saif Eddin, 43, who was displaced from southern Beirut.
The Norwegian Refugee Council reported that approximately 300,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced from their homes in the last four days. Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported 123 people killed and 683 injured as a result of Israeli attacks.
European and American stocks fell on Friday, March 6, while oil prices reached multi-year highs as the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed. Approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the strait daily.
*Iran Rejects Trump’s Intervention in Leadership Selection
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation announced Washington would provide reinsurance for losses of up to $20 billion in the Gulf region to bolster confidence for oil and gas shipping companies.
Trump said the U.S. Navy could accompany ships in the Gulf. However, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard challenged Trump to act on that claim. State media quoted Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Mohammad Nayini as saying Iran “welcomes” and “awaits” any American presence in the strait.
The Washington Post, citing three officials with intelligence knowledge, reported that Russia is providing Iran with information including the locations of U.S. Warships and aircraft in the Middle East, after Iran’s ability to pinpoint U.S. Forces diminished.
Russian missions in the United States have not yet responded to requests for comment on the report.
Trump reiterated his demand to intervene in the selection of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, a move rejected by Iravani.
The Iranian ambassador to the UN stated that the new leadership will be chosen “according to our constitutional procedures and by the will of the Iranian people – without any foreign interference.”
Iran has described the war as an unjustified attack and considered the death of Khamenei a targeted assassination.
The Trump administration is working to bolster weapons stockpiles as supplies are depleted due to the war with Iran. Trump met with executives from seven defense production companies on Friday, March 6, and later said they agreed to accelerate weapons production.
Karoline Leavitt, a White House spokesperson, said the United States has sufficient weapons stockpiles to meet the needs of its operations in Iran, which she said would take approximately four to six weeks to complete.
The State Department approved a sale of munitions and support to Israel worth $151.8 million on Friday, bypassing the usual congressional review. Senator Marco Rubio said an emergency existed requiring immediate approval of the sale.
Two U.S. Officials told Reuters that military investigators believe U.S. Forces were responsible for a strike that hit a school for girls in Iran, killing dozens of children on the first day of the war. Investigators have not yet reached a final conclusion.
(Prepared by Hassan Ammar and Rehab Alaa for the Arabic bulletin – Edited by Mahmoud Salama)
