WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—United States (US) President Donald Trump on Friday demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as the only acceptable outcome to end hostilities, while promising to help rebuild the country’s economy if Tehran complied.

Trump’s demand appeared to be a major expansion of US aims for the war, which Washington has previously said was focused on Iran’s missile program and naval forces, but the White House insisted later that the war aims remain unchanged.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Asked about the comment, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that when Trump determines Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States and the operation’s goals are realized, “Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.”

Trump’s post came as Israel bombarded Iranian targets in Tehran and Hezbollah positions in Beirut, and as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US strikes against Iran were “about to surge dramatically.”

Trump said that following any capitulation by the Islamic republic, the United States and its allies would work to bring Iran “back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”

This would be contingent on the installation of what he called “a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s).”

He closed with a new slogan — “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)” — a riff on his “Make America Great Again” political brand.

– Iran to be like Venezuela, says Trump –

At the beginning of the war, which the United States and Israel launched on February 28, Trump had mentioned the possibility of negotiations, but as with many issues related to the conflict, he has since changed tack and now is opposed to talks.

“They are calling, they are saying, ‘How do we make a deal?’ I said, ‘You are being a little bit late.’ We want to fight now more than they do,” Trump said on Thursday during an event at the White House.

Trump’s administration had insisted that the aim of the war on Iran was not to overthrow the existing government — an assertion contradicted by several recent statements from the president, including his message on Truth Social on Friday.

The Republican leader is demanding a say on the successor to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a strike early in the war.

Trump told Dana Bash of CNN that he was not opposed to a new religious leader in the country.

“I don’t mind religious leaders. I deal with a lot of religious leaders, and they’re fantastic,” Bash quoted Trump as saying.

In the same interview, he cited the example of Venezuela, where the United States seized the country’s leader and is now dealing with Delcy Rodriquez, the former vice president.

“It’s going to work very easily (in Iran). It’s going to work like it did in Venezuela. We have a wonderful leader there. She’s doing a fantastic job, and it’s going to work like that,” Trump told CNN.