As the US-Israeli war on Iran grinds into its second week, having completed a full week of what's largely been escalation alongside no real efforts at talks, the rhetoric on all sides is still expanding just as fast as the missile exchanges. Iran continues to get bombed very intensely, whileseveral overnight ballistic missile and drone waves hit Israel.
The biggest development is that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran will never capitulate, pushing back after Donald Trump demanded Iran’s "unconditional surrender". Butunexpectedly Pezeshkian has apologized to Gulf countries for coming under attack.
But strangely, in something whichsuggests how little in control Pezeshkian actually is(as more likely theIRGC is running the show, also as the Council of Experts delays choosing a Khamenei successor), Iran hascontinued launching drones and missiles toward Israel and targets across the Gulf- again, even as officials insist Tehran has no intention of attacking neighboring states unless attacks originate from their territory.
Trump, however, is already declaring victory while promising even more escalation. Posting on Truth Social, the president warned that"today Iran will be hit very hard"while saying that new targets could soon be added. "Under serious consideration forcomplete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time," Trump wrote.
He also claimed Tehran had effectively backed down in the region, saying Pezeshkian had"surrendered" to neighboring countries and "promised that it will not shoot at them anymore."According to Trump, "This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack."
The president went further, declaring:
Iran is no longer the 'Bully of the Middle East,' they are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely,completely collapse! Today Iran will be hit very hard!
On the ground, the 'second front' of the conflict is widening: Israeli air and ground raids on the Lebanese town of Nabi Chit in the eastern Bekaa Valley reportedlykilled at least 41 people, asfighting with Hezbollah intensifies. Beirut has also been getting bombed from the air, with whole buildings leveled.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia says itnewly intercepted two ballistic missiles headed toward Prince Sultan Air Base and drones targeting the Shaybah oilfield.
Rare close-up Tel Aviv strike footage, with Iron Dome clearly struggling and failing in this instance:
Source: ZeroHedge News
