Trump Warns U.S. Could Strike New Iranian Targets as Conflict Escalates

President Donald Trump stated that the United States is weighing strikes on Iranian locations and populations not previously on its target list, intensifying a week-long conflict that has disrupted energy markets and sent shockwaves around the globe.

“Today Iran will be hit very hard!” Trump declared in a social media post early Saturday, as U.S. and Israeli forces continued their bombardment of Tehran and other cities for an eighth consecutive day. He vowed the assaults would persist “until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!”

This statement followed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s pledge not to yield, as Tehran sustained missile attacks against Israel and Gulf nations hosting U.S. troops. “The idea that we would surrender unconditionally — they must take such a dream to the grave,” he said in an address.

Pezeshkian — who serves on a three-member interim leadership council following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 — indicated he has instructed the military regarding any country not attacking the Islamic Republic. He offered an apology to unspecified neighboring nations, referring to them as “our brothers.”

This reconciliatory rhetoric was not matched by deeds, as Iran launched drones and missiles at Qatar and Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates reported ongoing efforts to intercept incoming projectiles. Kuwait, OPEC’s fifth-largest producer, halted oil and refinery production, blaming the “ongoing aggression by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles aimed at a major oil field, the newest energy asset threatened in a confrontation that has driven a sharp increase in crude oil and gas prices.

Trump asserted the U.S. is giving “serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior” to “areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.” He pointed to Pezeshkian’s apology as evidence it was compelled by “the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack.”

Pezeshkian’s remarks may have concerned Azerbaijan, after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disclaimed responsibility for missiles fired at that northern neighbor earlier in the hostilities.

Iranian media outlets, including the semi-official Jamaran news agency, rapidly characterized Trump’s post as a threat to civilian populations. To date, U.S. and Israeli strikes seem to have concentrated on military and governmental locations instead of widespread urban and infrastructure bombing.

Iran has nonetheless reported a minimum of 1,332 fatalities in the war to date, in addition to extensive damage. Six U.S. military personnel have been killed, all within the initial two days of combat.

This clash occurred one week after the U.S. and Israel initiated strikes against the Islamic Republic in a war displaying no indications of abating. The fighting has interrupted worldwide supply chains and fueled concerns of a fresh inflation crisis, drawing over a dozen countries into the conflict.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz cautioned the U.S. and Israel against pursuing a campaign that might result in Iran’s fragmentation, a new European migration crisis, and enduring economic harm. Saudi Arabia has sought direct talks with Tehran to reduce tensions, according to multiple European officials.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts intends to convene to select a new supreme leader within the next day, as reported by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. Mojtaba Khamenei, the deceased leader’s second-eldest son, is a candidate.

The Trump administration dismissed concerns over skyrocketing energy costs due to the war, even as U.S. gasoline prices climbed to their highest level since September 2024. U.S. crude futures concluded the week above $90 per barrel—a rise of over $20 from the previous Friday—registering the largest weekly percentage gain on record in data extending back to the 1980s.

Liquefied natural gas prices have also jumped after Qatar, a top global producer of the fuel, was compelled to close a major facility.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—a vital global oil and gas transit corridor—remains at a standstill, and energy exporters are rushing to move cargoes out of the area.

“Oil prices would likely exceed $100 next week if no signs of solutions emerge by then,” wrote Goldman Sachs analysts, including Daan Struyven, on Friday. They noted a risk that price peaks from 2008 and 2022 could be surpassed, particularly for refined products, if strait flows stay suppressed through March.

Iran warned on Friday it would attack U.S.- and Israeli-affiliated vessels in the strait. Concurrently, Saudi Arabia diverted millions of barrels of crude to a port on its Red Sea coast, aiding the world’s leading exporter in sustaining some shipments.

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Gulf states “did not choose this war,” posted Khalaf Al Habtoor, a Dubai billionaire and hotel magnate, on Saturday, capturing widespread regional opposition to the conflict. “We will not accept our homelands being turned into a battleground.”

Trump met with defense industry executives at the White House on Friday to emphasize the necessity of accelerating production of crucial weapons systems. Following the meeting, he posted on social media that they agreed to increase output of the costliest U.S. military hardware.

With no definitive end to military operations in sight, European and Asian nations have been acting to strengthen regional defenses. NATO announced it was enhancing its missile defenses after an Iranian missile headed toward its territory was shot down on Wednesday.

Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and enlarged its ground operations inside Lebanon on Friday, targeting the Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 120 deaths there.

Airlines continue to be severely impacted by the conflict, with flight cancellations to Middle East hubs exceeding 27,000 since hostilities started. Thousands of passengers remain stranded across the Gulf region, though Emirates stated on Friday it aims to restore full network operations in the coming days.