U.S. President Rejects Iran War Settlement as Tehran Nears Decision on New Supreme Leader

Reuters

Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, 7 March 2026.

U.S. 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 ‌President 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, U.S. 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,'" President Trump said.

The governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain reported Iranian drone attacks in their countries on Saturday and early Sunday, with a huge fire engulfing a government office block in Kuwait.

The U.S. 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 told Reuters.

In an apparent attempt to cool anger across the Gulf, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised to neighbouring states for its attacks on U.S. facilities in those countries on Saturday. However, Iranian strikes across the middle east continues.

He dismissed President 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.

President Pezeshkian's comments faced backlash from some hardliners in Iran, prompting his office to reiterate Iran's military would respond firmly to attacks from U.S. 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 Mohammadmehdi Mirbaqeri, according to the Mehr news agency.

The Israeli military, in a post on X, warned it would pursue every successor.

President Trump has justified the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq by saying Tehran posed an imminent threat to the United States. He has also ⁠said Iran was too close to being able to build a nuclear weapon.

Huge explosions were heard in parts of Tehran, state media reported, while Israel said it had struck Iranian missile sites, command centers and fuel depots on Saturday.

The U.S.-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's ⁠U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani. Meanwhile, Iranian attacks have killed 10 people in Israel. At least six U.S. service members have been killed, with Iran saying on Sunday ⁠it had struck U.S. bases in Kuwait.

Israel also launched fresh attacks in Lebanon on Saturday after the Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah fired across the border. Israel warned Lebanon of a "very heavy price" if it did not rein in Hezbollah militants, as the death toll from Israel's attacks on Lebanon since Monday rose to around 300.

Iran’s apparent strategy of creating maximum disruption has increased the costs of the conflict by driving up energy prices, harming global business and logistics links, and disrupting international air travel.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Oil Company began cutting oil output on Saturday, adding to earlier oil and gas production cuts from Iraq and Qatar. Oil prices have surged to multi-year highs as the conflict has effectively shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes.

Source: Reuters



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