Trump rules out negotiations, demands Iran's "unconditional surrender"

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States will accept no agreement with Iran short of "unconditional surrender," one day after Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Iran is not requesting a ceasefire and does not see any reason to negotiate with Washington.

"There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said that after such a surrender and the selection of a "great and acceptable leader," the United States and its allies would help rebuild Iran's economy.

On Thursday, Araghchi told NBC News, "We are not asking for a ceasefire, and we don't see any reason why we should negotiate with the United States when we negotiated with them twice, and every time, they attacked us in the middle of the negotiations."

The US-Israel massive attacks on Iran entered the seventh day and are escalating. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran and several other Iranian cities started Saturday morning, leading to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, some of his family members, top military commanders and civilians.

Iran responded with several waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli and US assets across the region.