President Donald Trump declared Friday that the United States would accept nothing less than Iran's "unconditional surrender," ruling out any negotiated settlement to the ongoing military campaign against Tehran. Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that following surrender and the selection of what he called "acceptable" new leadership, the U.S. and its allies would work to make Iran "economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the administration expects military operations to last four to six weeks.

The conflict, now close to entering its second week, began following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. U.S. Central Command reported that in the first seven days of Operation Epic Fury, American forces have struck more than 3,000 targets and damaged or destroyed 43 Iranian ships. On Friday, Israeli forces launched what the Israeli military described as a "broad-scale new wave of strikes" on Mehrabad Airport, Tehran's main domestic hub, with eyewitness footage showing burning aircraft and large plumes of smoke — a significantly heavier bombardment than an earlier Israeli strike on the facility March 4.

A separate and serious development emerged Friday when U.S. investigators said they believe the United States may have been responsible for a deadly airstrike on a girls' primary school in Iran on Feb. 28, the first day of the war. Iranian state media reported the strike killed dozens of people, including schoolgirls ages 7 to 12. Investigators reached that preliminary assessment because the U.S. was operating in the area while Israel was not, though the White House said no final conclusions have been reached and called speculation otherwise "irresponsible and false."

The war has drawn in additional geopolitical complications, with multiple sources reporting that Russia has been providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. military movements in the region. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview set to air Sunday on "60 Minutes" that the U.S. is "tracking everything" and incorporating the intelligence-sharing into battle plans. A dozen Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, separately criticized Trump for waiving sanctions to allow India to more easily purchase Russian oil, arguing the move enriches Moscow at a time when U.S. strikes have already driven a spike in global energy prices.

Trump has declined to use the term "regime change" in describing U.S. objectives, though he has indicated he intends to play a role in selecting Iran's next leader. He told Axios earlier this week that installing Khamenei's son Mojtaba — seen as close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — would be "unacceptable." The White House likened the situation to the U.S. operation in Venezuela earlier this year, in which American forces removed President Nicolás Maduro and the administration backed a chosen successor, a comparison that underscores the administration's willingness to pursue direct intervention in foreign leadership transitions.