The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated this Saturday that Iran has "surrendered" to its Middle Eastern neighbors and warned that the country will receive "a very heavy blow" in the coming hours, amid the war that Washington and its allies are waging against the Islamic Republic.
Trump made the statement through his network Truth Social, after the Iranian president, Masud Pezeshkian, announced that Tehran has decided to halt attacks against neighboring countries unless Iran is attacked from those territories.
"Iran, which is being hit brutally, has apologized and surrendered to its neighbors in the Middle East, to whom it has promised not to shoot at them anymore," wrote the U.S. president.
On Friday, Trump had already taken a harder stance by demanding an "unconditional surrender" from Iran as the only way to end the conflict. The president stated that there would be no negotiations while Tehran does not accept complete capitulation, a declaration that increased military and political pressure on the Iranian regime.
This Saturday, Trump attributed the shift in the Iranian regime's stance to the "relentless assault by the United States and Israel," which has been conducting a military offensive against Iran since February 28.
Israel named its operation "Roaring Lion," while Washington has described its military campaign as "Epic Fury". The initial bombings targeted military and strategic facilities in cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan.
During the early hours of the attack, severe blows were reported against the Iranian power structure, including the death of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Jamenei, who had governed the country since 1989.
After those events, power was reorganized around a Leadership Council that includes President Pezeshkian.
In the following days, the conflict escalated rapidly. Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones against targets linked to the United States and Israel in the region, increasing tensions in several Middle Eastern countries.
Washington responded by intensifying its military operations against Iranian strategic infrastructure and its naval capacity in the Gulf.
In his message this Saturday, Trump asserted that Iran has ceased to be a dominant power in the region. “It is no longer the bully of the Middle East; it is now the loser of the Middle East,” he wrote.
The U.S. president also warned that the United States is considering expanding military targets within Iran.
"Today Iran will receive a very heavy blow", Trump stated, adding that there is an assessment to attack "areas and groups of people that until now had not been considered as targets".
For his part, Pezeshkian apologized to neighboring countries for the Iranian attacks in recent days and assured that the country's leadership has decided to halt regional offensives to prevent further escalation.
"The Leadership Council decided to end the attacks against neighboring countries, unless Iran is attacked from those territories," it stated in a message broadcast by Iranian state television.
The war between Iran, the United States, and Israel, which began a week ago, has created significant geopolitical tension in the Middle East and has had an immediate impact on international energy markets.
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