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President Donald Trump declared this Friday that he will not accept any agreement with Iran that is not the unconditional surrender of the regime, and outlined a post-conflict vision under the slogan "Make Iran Great Again (MIGA)", promising that the United States and its allies will work to economically rebuild Iran once the regime falls and a new leadership is chosen.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. 'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)'." The message was reiterated from Air Force One.
The statements come on the eighth day of the Epic Fury Operation, the joint military campaign of the United States and Israel launched on February 28, 2026. In the first 72 hours, allied forces attacked over 1,700 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, Revolutionary Guard barracks, air defenses, and the Iranian naval fleet.
Trump also warned in recent posts that he knows the exact location of the supreme leader Ali Jamenei —whom he described as an "easy target"— but has not ordered his elimination "at least for now." "We haven't gone to eliminate him, at least not for now. But we don't want missiles launched against American civilians or soldiers. Our patience has been wearing thin," he wrote.
The ayatollah Ali Jamenei, the supreme leader of Iran since 1989, died during the initial bombings of the operation. Iran officially confirmed this on March 1 and declared 40 days of national mourning. Since then, the Iranian chain of command has been severely diminished: 49 high-ranking officials and military leaders have been eliminated, including leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Israel bombed on March 3 the headquarters of the Assembly of Experts in Qom, the constitutional body responsible for electing the new Supreme Leader, blocking the formal succession process. Ali Larijani announced the formation of an Interim Leadership Council consisting of President Pezeshkian, the head of the Judiciary Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, and a cleric from the Guardian Council. Trump rejected Jamenei's son as a potential successor, calling him "unacceptable."
On March 3, Trump had already ruled out any negotiation by stating that it was "too late to negotiate" with Iran. The Republican Senate supported this stance by rejecting a resolution last Thursday invoking the War Powers Act, arguing that the operations constitute "strategic strikes" and not a formal war that requires Congressional approval.
Until this Friday, six American soldiers have died in the operation, primarily in an attack involving Iranian drones in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on March 1. The Pentagon identified four of them: Captain Cody Khork, Sergeant First Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, from Nebraska, Sergeant First Class Nicole M., and Sergeant Declan Coady, 20, from Iowa.
Trump estimated that the Epic Fury Operation will last between four and five weeks, with the possibility of an extension, and warned that "combat operations are continuing at full strength and will continue until all our objectives are achieved."
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