U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to intensify military strikes on Iran, declaring through his social media platform Truth Social that Iran would be hit very hard. The warning came on the eighth day of the ongoing war, during which U.S. and Israeli forces carried out extensive attacks across Iran. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian dismissed Trump’s call for unconditional surrender, asserting that Iran would never bow down. He also apologized to Gulf neighbors and pledged not to attack them, provided their territories are not used for assaults on Iran.
The conflict has spread across the region, with Israel launching new airstrikes on Tehran and Isfahan, and Iran responding with ballistic missile attacks on Israel and strikes on U.S. bases in Bahrain. Explosions were reported in Dubai and Manama, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted a tanker near the Strait of Hormuz and Kurdish positions in Iraq. The Iranian Red Crescent reported thousands of civilian structures hit since February 28.
Reports also indicated that Russia has been supplying Iran with intelligence on U.S. targets, while Washington approved emergency arms sales to Israel. Analysts cited by U.S. media suggested that even large-scale attacks are unlikely to collapse Iran’s leadership structure.