President Donald Trump said the US is considering attacking areas and groups of people in Iran that were not previously considered targets, intensifying a week-long war that has had repercussions around the world.
“Today Iran will be hit hard!”, said Trump in a post on social media in the early hours of Saturday in the USA. The US-Israel attack will continue “until they surrender or, more likely, collapse completely!”
The publication came after Iran’s president promised not to back down as Tehran continued missile attacks on Gulf countries hosting American military forces for the eighth day in a row. “The idea that we would surrender unconditionally – let them take that dream to the grave,” Masoud Pezeshkian said in a speech.
Pezeshkian – who sits on the three-member interim leadership council following the US and Israeli attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – said he has instructed the military not to attack any nation that is not attacking the Islamic Republic. Still, the country launched drones and missiles against Qatar and Bahrain, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Read more:
Saudi Arabia intercepted drones heading towards a major oil field, the latest energy asset to be targeted in a conflict that has sparked a surge in crude oil and gas prices.
Continues after advertising
“Areas and groups of people that have not been considered targets up until this point are being seriously assessed for complete destruction and certain death due to Iran’s bad behavior,” Trump said.
The exchange of words occurred a week after the US and Israel began attacking the Islamic Republic in a war that shows no signs of abating. The conflict has disrupted global supply chains and fueled fears of a new inflationary crisis, while more than a dozen countries have been drawn into the crossfire.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned the US and Israel against an “endless war” that could lead to the disintegration of Iran, a new migration crisis in Europe and lasting economic damage.
The Trump administration countered concerns about rising energy costs from the war, with U.S. gasoline prices hitting their highest level since September 2024. U.S. crude oil futures closed the week above $90 a barrel — more than $20 above the previous Friday — and posted the biggest weekly percentage gain in history since data began being collected in the 1980s. Brent crude closed above $92 a barrel. barrel.
Liquefied natural gas prices also soared after Qatar, one of the world’s largest producers of the fuel, was forced to close a major plant.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial chokepoint for global oil and gas flows – remains largely at a standstill, and energy exporters are seeking alternative routes out of the region.
Continues after advertising
“Oil prices will likely surpass $100 next week if no signs of solutions emerge by then,” Goldman Sachs analysts including Daan Struyven wrote on Friday. There is a risk that the 2008 and 2022 peaks will be exceeded, especially for refined products, if flow through the strait remains low throughout March, they said.
The price of oil reached around US$145 in 2008 and, in 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it reached almost US$130.
On Friday, Iran warned it would attack ships linked to the United States and Israel in the strait. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is diverting millions of barrels of crude oil to a port on its Red Sea coast, helping the world’s biggest exporter maintain some of its supplies.
Continues after advertising
The Gulf states “did not choose this war,” Khalaf Al Habtoor, a Dubai billionaire and hotel magnate, posted on X on Saturday, reflecting a widespread backlash against the conflict in the region. “We will not accept that our homelands are transformed into a battlefield to resolve other people’s conflicts.”
On Friday, Trump called for an “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” and mentioned a plan for the US and its allies to select a “GREAT AND ACCEPTABLE LEADER(S)” for Iran. Hours later, he hosted defense industry executives at the White House to emphasize the need to increase production of critical weapons systems.
“They agreed to quadruple the production of ‘Exquisite Class’ weapons as we want to reach the highest levels of quantity as quickly as possible,” Trump posted on social media after the meeting, referring to the most expensive American military equipment.
Continues after advertising
Without a defined deadline for the end of military operations, countries in Europe and Asia have mobilized to reinforce the region’s defenses. NATO announced it is expanding its anti-missile defense system following Wednesday’s interception of an Iranian missile heading into Turkish airspace.
According to several European authorities, Saudi Arabia has intensified direct dialogue with Tehran in an attempt to reduce tensions.
The war between the US and Israel has left at least 1,332 people dead in Iran, and dozens more have been killed in retaliatory attacks elsewhere in the region. Six American soldiers died, all in the first two days of fighting.
Continues after advertising
Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut and expanded its ground presence in Lebanon on Friday, intensifying the campaign against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militant group. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 120 people were killed in the country.
Iran has not yet elected a successor to Khamenei, who was killed on February 28, the first day of the war. Mojtaba Khamenei, the slain leader’s second eldest son, is in the running. Trump said he was a “lightweight” who would not change the regime’s policies and insisted on being personally involved in choosing the country’s next leader.
Airlines continue to be hampered by the conflict, with the number of canceled flights to hubs in the Middle East exceeding 27,000 since fighting began. Thousands of passengers remain stranded in the Gulf region, although Emirates said on Friday it intends to resume full operations across its network in the coming days.
© 2026 Bloomberg LP
