Iran ‘won’t surrender’ even if the US and Israel wreak total destruction on the country and it is not in the world’s interest to fight until the beleaguered regime collapses, a senior Israeli official has claimed.
Iran has faced continuous bombardments from the US and Israel since the war broke out, with explosions leaving behind a ‘river of fire’ across its capital Tehran and resulting in the deaths of many of the regime’s elite including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But the Islamic Republic has showed no signs it will surrender, launching waves of missiles at Israel and US allies in the Gulf, and naming the Ayatollah’s hardline son Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor.
Iran’s attacks on its Middle Eastern neighbours have continued despite Donald Trump demanding the regime’s ‘unconditional surrender’.
The US President is under growing pressure to end the conflict due to soaring oil prices which are threatening a worldwide economic crisis and the increasing cost of the war for American allies in the Gulf.
Writing on social media, he said: ‘There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. After that, and the selection of a great and acceptable leader, we and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. Iran will have a great future.’
But Iran’s surrender is unrealistic, according to an Israeli official familiar with the planning and strategy of the war.
‘I’m not sure it’s in our interest to fight until the regime is toppled. Nobody wants a never-ending story,’ they told the Washington Post.
Iran’s attacks on its Middle Eastern neighbours have continued despite Donald Trump demanding the regime’s ‘unconditional surrender’
An enormous cloud of dark smoke rises above Beirut following Israeli shelling on the Iranian capital
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new Supreme Leader after Israeli and the US killed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
‘Of course, we wish to topple the regime, but that’s not the only endgame. Iran won’t surrender, but it can send messages to accept a ceasefire with US conditions’.
The official claimed the Israeli-US bombing campaign has almost achieved its military objectives as they close in on destroying Iran’s nuclear programme, weapon facilities and the top ranks of its military force.
But they warned they ‘don’t see anyone who can replace the regime’.
The comments come as Mr Trump claimed the war with Iran would only end once he and Benjmain Netanyahu make a ‘mutual’ decision to do so.
Asked whether he alone would decide when the war ends, he told The Times of Israel: ‘I think it’s mutual… a little bit. We’ve been talking. I’ll make a decision at the right time, but everything’s going to be taken into account.’
He also claimed Iran would have ‘destroyed Israel and everything else around it’ if it weren’t for him and Netanyahu.
The Israeli Prime Minister has said Israel wants ‘to destabilize the regime, to enable change’ and has repeatedly urged Iranians to take control of their own future and rise up against the regime.
On Monday, the war raged on, with several explosions heard Monday in the Qatari capital Doha, as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait all reported new attacks.
Iran showed no signs of surrendering as it unleashed a huge attack overnight with Bahrain experiencing the highest number of casualties since the beginning of the war.
Thousands of pro-Iranian regime supporters gathered in the streets of Tehran on Monday in support of their new Supreme Leader
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said 32 people were injured in an Iranian attack on the island of Sitra, after its Bapco refinery was hit by drones overnight.
All of the wounded were Bahraini citizens and there were four ‘serious cases’, including children, the health ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency.
The wounded included a 17-year-old girl who suffered severe head and eye injuries, and a two-month-old baby, according to the ministry.
‘As a result of the blatant Iranian aggression, injuries among citizens were reported, one of them serious, and a number of houses in Sitra were damaged as a result of an attack by drones,’ the ministry said.
Bapco confirmed the strike on its 405,000-barrel-per-day refinery but said there were no fatalities.
The state-owned energy company declared force majeure, a legal maneuver that releases a company of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, Brits could face the highest ever pump prices as the Middle East crisis sends energy bills spiralling.
Experts have warned that petrol could hit £2 a litre for the first time, amid a staggering spike in global oil costs.
Keir Starmer is desperately trying to calm fears of another 2022-style cost of living squeeze, hinting at another bailout despite the fragile state of the government’s finances.
On a visit to a community centre in London this morning, Sir Keir insisted the economy is more ‘resilient’ than when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine cause havoc four years ago.
But he conceded that the longer the war goes on ‘the more likely the impact on our economy’.
Iran has continued to hit back at US allies in the Gulf and 32 people were injured in an attack on the Bahraini island of Sitra, after its Bapco refinery (pictured) was hit by drones overnight
Sir Keir is also scrambling to limit damage to the Special Relationship from his refusal to back Donald Trump’s decision to launch the war on Iran.
The US President has dismissed the soaring oil and gas prices saying they are a ‘small price to pay’ for taming Tehran.
The price of a barrel of oil has rocketed over $100 for the first time in years, with supplies threatened by attacks on infrastructure of major producers in the region.
Iran has also managed to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil travels.
