Seven days into a war that has already reshaped the Middle East, President Donald Trump is pushing for nothing less than the complete collapse of the Iranian government. Speaking from the White House and posting on social media, Trump called on the Iranian people to overthrow their clerical leadership, promised immunity to those who cooperated, and declared that unconditional surrender was the only path to peace.
The military campaign backing those words has been ferocious. US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers, operating from undisclosed locations, dropped dozens of 2,000-pound bunker-busting bombs on hardened underground missile sites inside Iran. Witnesses in Tehran described the strikes as uniquely terrifying, with explosions shaking buildings across the capital. Explosions also rocked the city of Kermanshah, home to key Iranian missile bases.
In Lebanon, the scale of displacement has been staggering. Israel issued evacuation orders covering Dahiyeh, a densely populated Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut, sending hundreds of thousands of residents streaming out of the city. When Israeli strikes finally hit the emptied district, the area was described as a ghost town of rubble and fire. Hezbollah continued firing rockets into northern Israel throughout the day, wounding five Israeli soldiers with anti-tank fire.
Iran retaliated broadly, launching missiles and drones at US bases and oil infrastructure across the Gulf. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain all reported being targeted. Bahrain confirmed that Iranian strikes hit hotels and residential buildings. Kuwait, where six American troops had been killed earlier in the week, activated air defenses as new waves of missiles crossed its airspace.
International concern has grown sharply. France condemned an attack on the UN peacekeeping mission’s Ghanaian battalion headquarters in Lebanon, calling it unacceptable. Ireland’s taoiseach called it reckless. The United Nations human rights chief appealed for steps to contain the conflict, warning that only escalation and destruction seemed to be on the agenda. Oil markets, airline schedules, and global stock exchanges all continued to feel the war’s economic shockwaves.