No deal with Iran except ‘unconditional surrender,’ Trump says

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday escalated discourse surrounding the Iran war, saying the U.S. would be abandoning talks of a deal unless the country capitulates entirely.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that “IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE” should the Islamic Republic decide to put down its arms.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” the president wrote. “After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), 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. ... ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!).’”

Trump’s comments came less than 24 hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper provided combat updates during a press briefing at CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Discussing the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, Hegseth asserted that U.S. combat power continues to converge upon the region as Iran’s capabilities decline.

“When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently,” Hegseth said.

With the goal of dismantling Iran’s navy, missile capabilities and nuclear program, U.S. forces over the course of the week-long war have struck approximately 2,000 targets, Cooper previously stated.

In the 72 hours prior to Thursday’s briefing, American bombers hit nearly 200 targets and dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrative bombs on deeply buried ballistic missile launchers, the CENTCOM commander said.

The U.S. has also eliminated 30 Iranian navy ships , Cooper added, including one off the coast of Sri Lanka — in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility — that was the result of the first U.S. Navy submarine torpedo kill since World War II .

Iran’s “equivalent of space command” has also been hit, Cooper noted.

Now one week into the conflict, actions have resulted in Iran’s military offenses slowing considerably, the admiral said, with the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile attacks decreasing by 90% since the first day of the war and drone attacks diminishing by 83%.

“We’re not just hitting what they have,” Cooper said. “We’re destroying their ability to rebuild.”

Questions remain, meanwhile, regarding munitions stockpiles and how exactly Washington will accomplish its objectives.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that over 800 Patriot interceptor missiles had been used over the first three days of the Iran war, more than what Ukraine has used in four years since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The U.S. and other allies have reportedly approached Kyiv with requests for expertise, including from personnel, on more cost-friendly measures to combat Iran’s cheaply-made Shahed drones, which cost an average of $35,000 each.

Contrast that sum with an estimated $4 million price tag of a U.S.-made PAC-3 interceptor, and the cost exchange is 114-1 in favor of Iran.

Ukraine, however, has been increasingly experiencing success knocking Shaheds out of the sky with systems that cost as little as a used car.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is slated to host a meeting Friday with executives from Lockheed Martin, RTX, L3Harris and other defense firms to discuss surging missile systems production.

Amid this backdrop, Hegseth on Thursday asserted that the U.S. military’s munitions stockpile is not only in no danger of dwindling, but said the amount of U.S. firepower surrounding Iran is about to “surge dramatically.”

“We’ve only just begun to fight, and fight decisively,” he said.

Military Times reporter Riley Ceder contributed to this report.

J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周五升级了围绕伊朗战争的争论，称除非伊朗完全屈服，否则美国将放弃达成协议的谈判。

特朗普在社交媒体平台 Truth Social 上发帖称，如果伊朗伊斯兰共和国决定放下武器，“伊朗将拥有美好的未来”。

“除了无条件投降，我们不会与伊朗达成任何协议！”总统写道。“在那之后，选出一位伟大且可接受的领导人，我们以及我们许多杰出而勇敢的盟友和伙伴将不懈努力，使伊朗摆脱毁灭的边缘，使其经济比以往任何时候都更加强大、繁荣……‘让伊朗再次伟大！’”

特朗普发表上述言论不到 24 小时前，国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯和美国中央司令部司令布拉德·库珀海军上将在佛罗里达州坦帕市麦克迪尔空军基地的中央司令部总部举行新闻发布会，介绍了最新的作战情况。

在讨论正在进行的“史诗狂怒行动”时，赫格塞斯断言，随着伊朗能力的下降，美国的作战力量正不断向该地区集中。

“我们所说的未来会有更多，指的是更多的战斗机中队、更强的能力、更强的防御能力，以及更频繁的轰炸机出动，”赫格塞斯说。

库珀此前表示，为了摧毁伊朗的海军、导弹能力和核计划，美军在为期一周的战争中袭击了大约 2000 个目标。

美国中央司令部司令表示，在周四简报会召开前的 72 小时内，美国轰炸机袭击了近 200 个目标，并向深埋地下的弹道导弹发射器投掷了数十枚 2000 磅重的穿透性炸弹。

库珀补充说，美国还击沉了 30 艘伊朗海军舰艇，其中包括一艘在斯里兰卡海岸附近（位于美国印太司令部责任区内）被击沉的舰艇——这是自二战以来美国海军首次用鱼雷击沉潜艇。

库珀指出，伊朗的“相当于太空司令部的机构”也遭到了袭击。

这位海军上将表示，冲突爆发一周后，伊朗的军事进攻已大幅放缓，自战争爆发以来，伊朗的弹道导弹袭击减少了 90%，无人机袭击减少了 83%。

库珀说：“我们不仅仅是打击他们已有的东西，我们还在摧毁他们的重建能力。”

与此同时，关于军火储备以及华盛顿究竟将如何实现其目标，仍然存在疑问。

周三，乌克兰总统泽连斯基表示，在伊朗战争爆发后的前三天，乌克兰使用了超过 800 枚爱国者拦截导弹，比俄罗斯 2022 年入侵以来四年内使用的数量还要多。

据报道，美国和其他盟友已向基辅提出请求，希望获得专业知识，包括人员方面的专业知识，以采取更经济的措施来对抗伊朗廉价制造的“沙赫德”无人机，这种无人机平均每架造价为 35,000 美元。

相比之下，美国制造的 PAC-3 拦截机的估计价格为 400 万美元，伊朗的成本优势为 114 比 1。

然而，乌克兰在用价格低廉到相当于一辆二手车的系统击落“沙赫德”战机方面取得了越来越大的成功。

与此同时，特朗普政府计划于周五与洛克希德·马丁公司、RTX公司、L3Harris公司和其他国防公司的管理人员举行会议，讨论导弹系统产量激增的问题。

在此背景下，赫格塞斯周四断言，美国军方的弹药储备不仅没有减少的危险，而且表示美国对伊朗的火力即将“大幅增加”。

“我们才刚刚开始战斗，而且是彻底的战斗，”他说。

《军事时报》记者莱利·塞德对本报道亦有贡献。

JD Simkins 是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的总编辑，也是参加过伊拉克战争的海军陆战队老兵。