The war has entered its seventh day, but there could be a glimmer of hope for some kind of diplomatic-led offramp as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian indicated Friday that several countries havebegun mediation efforts to end the war with the United States and Israel, but insists negotiations must confront those who started the conflict. "Some countries have begun mediation efforts. Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region, yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty," Pezeshkian wrote on X.

"Mediation should address those whounderestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict," he added. The mood over at the White House seems one of trying to get the unanticipated after-effects and especially the ongoing fierce Iranian retaliation on Gulf targets under control. Tehran overnight and into Fridaysaw the heaviest bombardment yet of the Iranian capital. Meanwhile, Brent oil futures have surged to $90 a barrel on the Iran war.

Importantly, President Trump Friday morning has made clear in a Truth Social post that there will be"no deal" except under "unconditional surrender". He also asserted that after this, Iran can "select a great, acceptable leader" with his help and approval. "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," he stated. And following this CNN cited both Trump and Hegseth to say theyrate the war at "12 or 15 out of 10."The president also sees gasoline prices going down "very quickly" - per CNN.

This smashed WTI up to $88 - the highest since Oct 2023...

Massive explosions rocked residential neighborhoods and areas near Tehran University, as US and Israeli strikes targeted sites linked to Iran’s military and political leadership, withAl Jazeera'scorrespondent reporting that theintensity of the bombardment exceeded anything seen earlier in the war. "I can say that compared to previous days, we saw heavier bombardment overnight, at least in the capital," the report said. CNN also now belatedly has a war correspondent on the ground in Iran.

Notably, some of the latest strikes hit areas near Pasteur Street,a heavily secured district that houses key government institutionsand where Iran's supreme leader and several family members were killed in the opening hours of the conflict. Israel is vowing attacks markeda "new phase" of the war.

According to the Israeli military, about 50 fighter jets struck an "underground bunker" in Tehran that had been constructed for the late supreme leader, which allegedly extended beneath entire streets in central Tehran and contained meeting facilities used by senior officials even after the leader's death.

Plan A for a clean rapid military victory failed, Mr. President. Your Plan B will be even bigger failure.The truth: Chance for unique deal burned after the 'America Last' cabal obscured "significant progress" we made in negotiations.'Israel First' always means 'America Last'

Israeli officials further claim the campaign is beginning to expose fractures inside Iran's military chain of command; however, some reports have said various units could be acting autonomously under emergency orders to unleash full retaliation.

The United States has also made clear it is escalating its operations, withB-2 bombers having dropped dozens of bunker-busting "penetrator" bombson deeply buried ballistic-missile launch sites across Iran. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the air campaign is"about to surge dramatically"- with President Trump also not showing signs of backing down, describing that the military operation is advancing faster than expected.

Source: ZeroHedge News