© EPA/ BONNIE CASH / POOL The US president desires Iran to be incapable of future combat.
President Donald Trump stated that his stipulation for Iran's “unconditional capitulation” could signify the total eradication of the regime's armed forces — and not necessarily a formal capitulation, he communicated to Axios.
“Unconditional capitulation might entail that [the Iranians] declare it themselves. However, it could equally suggest they are simply unable to engage in warfare any longer — due to a depletion of manpower or resources,” he expressed in a phone conversation.
Just hours prior to the interview, Trump essentially left Iran without options, dismissing discussions and insisting on “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” in a post on Truth Social.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt later conveyed on Fox News that “unconditional capitulation” denotes a scenario where Trump is assured: “Iran is no longer positioned to represent a danger to the United States and our armed forces in the Middle East.”
Levitt delineated the US objectives:
- obliterate the Iranian naval force,
- negate the danger of ballistic projectiles,
- to guarantee that Iran does not procure atomic arms,
- and additionally, to weaken its regional partners and allied militant groups.
Previously, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X that “certain nations have already initiated conciliatory endeavors” to halt the conflict.
“To be candid: we aspire to enduring tranquility in the region, but we shall not waver in protecting the esteem and autonomy of our nation. Conciliation should be aimed at those who misjudged the Iranian populace and instigated this struggle,” he penned.
On the preceding day, Trump conveyed his aspiration to personally partake in choosing the subsequent supreme leader of Iran to ascertain that his replacement will not execute policies that will provoke conflict once more.
As a rejoinder, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shared on X that Iran would not permit Trump to “lay down rules for a whole people.”
“Trump still has not grasped the magnitude of the catastrophe he has imposed upon himself and American soldiers by assassinating our imam,” he asserted, adding that Iran’s destiny “will be determined exclusively by the proud Iranian people, not Epstein’s cohort.”
“If this is the official stance of the US administration, and considering that the existing regime in Iran is disinclined to yield, then the operation will persist until the demise of the present regime. Any divergent conclusion will be regarded as a failure — irrespective of the military accomplishments of this campaign,” remarked Danny Citrinovich, an Iran specialist at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies and the Atlantic Council.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio communicated in a sequence of telephone interactions with Arab foreign ministers on Thursday that the war was anticipated to persist for several more weeks, according to sources conversant with the conversations.
Rubio elucidated that the present military action is targeting Iranian missile launchers, stockpiling sites, and missile manufacturing.
He communicated to the ministers that the US intent was not regime alteration — while simultaneously making it apparent that Washington would be pleased to observe alternate individuals in command within the nation, sources affirmed.
Rubio further emphasized that the US is not currently engaged in any exchange with the Iranian regime and that any parleys at this juncture would undermine the ongoing military goals.
Trump conveyed on Thursday that Iran desires to parley, but it's beyond the pale.