President Trump Rules Out Negotiations, Wants to Handpick Iran’s Next Leader as Conflict Escalates Across the Middle East
As Operation Epic Fury enters its second week, U.S. President Donald Trump has drawn a hard line in the sand — there will be no deal with Iran without “unconditional surrender.”
Writing on Truth Social on Friday, Trump declared: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” He followed with a promise that after Iran selects “GREAT & ACCEPTABLE” new leadership, the U.S. and its allies would work to make Iran “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.” He even coined a new slogan: “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).”
The demand comes as Iran’s clerical establishment scrambles to replace Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war one week ago. Meanwhile, explosive new reports allege that Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence on the locations of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East — a development that could dramatically reshape the geopolitical landscape of this conflict.
White House: War Expected to Last 4 to 6 Weeks
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt put a rough timeline on the operation during a Friday press briefing, telling reporters: “We expect the war to last about 4 to 6 weeks, and we are well on our way to achieving those objectives, annihilating Iran’s navy.”
Leavitt also made clear that Trump would not tolerate Iran being led by “a radical terrorist or a regime that chants death to America.” When pressed on the question of who would lead Iran next, she said the president “wants to take an interest in and pursuing who the next leader of the Iranian country is going to be.”
Trump himself has compared the situation to the U.S. operation in Venezuela earlier this year, where American forces extracted President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise January raid and installed his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, who has since restored diplomatic relations with Washington. But analysts warn that Iran’s deeply entrenched theocratic system — with its layered political, religious, and security institutions — is a fundamentally different beast.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts Races to Name New Supreme Leader
Inside Iran, the Assembly of Experts — a body of approximately 88 senior clerics tasked with selecting the Supreme Leader — is reportedly close to naming Khamenei’s successor. The buildings in Tehran and Qom where they traditionally convene were bombed during the first days of the war, forcing the assembly to meet virtually.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Supreme Leader’s 56-year-old son and a hardliner with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is widely considered the frontrunner. But Trump has already made his position clear: “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me,” he told Axios and Reuters in phone interviews.
Tehran’s response was defiant. The conservative Mehr News Agency carried a rebuke from members of the interim Leadership Council: “The great Iranian nation will never allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs and its right to determine its own destiny.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also rejected Trump’s surrender demands in a televised address, calling unconditional surrender “a dream America should take to its grave.”
Russia Accused of Sharing US Military Positions With Iran
In what may be the most alarming development of the week, three sources, including a senior American official with direct knowledge, told CBS News that Russia has been providing targeting intelligence to Iran — including the locations of American warships and aircraft operating in the Middle East.
Asked about the reports, Leavitt called the intelligence sharing “not making a difference.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, said Trump is “well aware of who’s talking to who.”
The revelation underscores the complex web of alliances at play. Russia and Iran have been military partners for years — Tehran supplied Moscow with thousands of Shahed drones during the Ukraine war, while the U.S. provided Ukraine with weapons and intelligence targeting Russian forces. Now, Moscow appears to be returning the favor.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Iranian President Pezeshkian by phone on Friday, expressing condolences for the deaths of Khamenei, other officials, and civilians. The Kremlin called for an immediate end to hostilities and a diplomatic resolution.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say whether Russia and Iran were continuing military cooperation — a notable non-denial that has set alarm bells ringing in Washington.
Israel Pushes Into Lebanon as Hezbollah Joins the Fight
On the northern front, Israel has launched a significant military buildup along its border with Lebanon, with dozens of tanks and armored bulldozers positioned for what appears to be a full-scale ground invasion.
Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful proxy force, joined the war on Monday and has been launching daily barrages of rockets and drones at northern Israel, most of which have been intercepted by Israeli air defenses. Israel has issued a massive evacuation order for southern Lebanon extending roughly 27 kilometers (16 miles) inside the country.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated that the objective is the complete disarmament of Hezbollah. A senior military official, speaking anonymously, said: “We have plans to go as deep as needed, including to the Litani River and further, if instructed.”
The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that 394 people have been killed in Israeli military action since Monday.
UAE Enters the Fray — 1,400+ Drones Detected From Iran in One Week
The conflict has now drawn in multiple Gulf states. The United Arab Emirates reported detecting 1,422 drones from Iran over the past week, of which 80 penetrated defenses. The UAE also tracked 238 ballistic missiles — two of which landed on its territory — and intercepted eight cruise missiles.
In a statement from its foreign ministry, the UAE asserted its “full right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty and national security,” while noting it “does not seek to be drawn into any conflict or escalation.” Reports on Sunday morning indicated that the UAE struck an Iranian desalination plant, becoming the first Gulf nation to launch offensive strikes against Iran.
Tehran Under Siege: Oil Fires and Internet Blackouts
Tehran’s skyline remains choked with thick black smoke after Israeli strikes hit major oil depot facilities. Residents report the acrid smell of burning petroleum hanging over the capital for days. The Iranian government has imposed severe internet restrictions — citizens have received warnings that continued internet access could result in blocked connections and “referral to judicial authorities.”
Despite the danger, reports from inside Iran paint a complex picture. BBC Persian, used by 24 million people worldwide, has been gathering accounts from Iranian citizens. Some celebrated the death of Khamenei and have been cheering strikes on regime targets from their rooftops. Others are growing increasingly frightened about the war’s trajectory and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
One woman told the BBC: “We laugh and are happy when the regime is hit, but when children die and our infrastructure is destroyed, we worry about the future of our country.”
What Comes Next?
As the war enters its second week, several critical questions remain unanswered:
Can Trump’s “unconditional surrender” demand actually work? Iran’s theocratic system is deeply entrenched, and the memory of the CIA-backed 1953 coup that installed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi remains a powerful rallying point against foreign interference. The regime may be battered, but it shows no signs of capitulating.
Will Russia’s involvement escalate? If confirmed, Russian intelligence-sharing with Iran represents a significant escalation that could strain U.S.-Russia relations beyond their already frozen state.
How far will Israel go in Lebanon? The IDF buildup suggests a full ground invasion is imminent, potentially recreating the conditions of the 2024 war but on a much larger scale.
What happens when the 4-6 week clock runs out? The White House’s own timeline raises the question of what happens if Iran has not surrendered by then — and whether the U.S. public will support a longer engagement.
As Israeli commentator Avi Issacharof warned in Yedioth Ahronoth: toppling the ayatollah might sound “sexy,” but “there are no crowds in the streets of Tehran, no widespread public protests, and as yet no minority militias seizing territory.” The end of Khamenei, he noted, does not mean the end of the Iranian regime.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as the situation evolves.