Iran has rejected Trump’s surrender demands, vowed to continue resisting, and apologized to Gulf neighbors after Tehran’s strikes hit regional targets.
President Donald Trump said Iran would be hit “very hard” on March 7, signaling a potential intensification of U.S. military strikes after Tehran rejected his demand for unconditional surrender.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States was considering expanding its list of targets as the war with Iran entered its second week.
“Iran, which is being beat to hell, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors,” Trump wrote. “Today Iran will be hit very hard.”
He added that additional groups and areas inside Iran were now “under serious consideration” for targeting and “certain death.”
The remarks came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected Trump’s call for Tehran’s capitulation, calling the demand a “dream” and vowing that Iran would not surrender.
In a prerecorded address broadcast on Iranian state television on March 7, Pezeshkian said the country would continue resisting attacks by the United States and Israel.
Iran’s enemies “must take their dream of the Iranian people’s unconditional surrender to their graves,” Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian also said that Iran’s temporary leadership council had approved the suspension of attacks against neighboring countries unless an attack on Iran came from those countries.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” he said. “Our commanders, leaders, and loved ones lost their lives due to the brutal aggression that took place, and our armed forces are heroes who gave their lives to defend our territorial integrity.”
Pezeshian’s apology came as Iran continued to launch attacks in the region in response to U.S.-Israeli strikes. Earlier in the day, a wave of Iranian missiles and drones targeted a major Saudi oil facility, sent people fleeing for cover multiple times in Bahrain, and disrupted flights at Dubai International Airport.
Multiple Gulf countries—including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia—have reported missile or drone attacks during the past week.
Iranian officials say the strikes were aimed at U.S. military facilities operating from those countries rather than the states themselves.
Trump has said the joint U.S.-Israeli operation, launched on Feb. 28, intends to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and threatening America’s national security.
Iran has described the attack as an unjustified act of aggression while negotiations were taking place around Tehran’s nuclear program, which it insists was non-military.
By Tom Ozimek
