Iran 'will be hit very hard,' warns Trump as Tehran vows no surrender

President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the bombing of Iran on Saturday as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that he would never surrender, despite a fresh blitz of US and Israeli air strikes that set a Tehran airport ablaze.

Israel confirmed some of the biggest raids since the aerial bombardment of Iran began last Saturday, with a military academy, an underground command centre and a missile storage facility named as targets.

Pre-dawn AFP photos showed fire and smoke billowing from Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport, one of two that serve the capital.

"Today Iran will be hit very hard!" Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform.

Smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran early on Saturday. Reuters

"Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time."

Pezeshkian struck a defiant tone in a speech broadcast on state TV in which he appeared to address Trump's demand on Friday for "unconditional surrender."

Iran's enemies "must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves," Pezeshkian replied.

Iran also hit back on Saturday, demonstrating that it retains the ability to launch missiles and drones despite the relentless targeting of its military infrastructure over the last seven days.

There were air raid alerts and explosions heard above Jerusalem as well as Gulf cities.

Pezeshkian issued an apology to his Gulf neighbours, saying that they would only be targeted if their territories were used as launch sites for attacks.

HUMAN COST

Now entering its second week, the war was sparked by joint Israeli and US airstrikes last Saturday that killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

The conflict has since widened to war-battered Lebanon, as well as Cyprus in the EU, Turkey and Azerbaijan — and reached as far as waters off Sri Lanka where US forces sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo.

Women shop in Tajrish Bazaar, one week after the start of the US-Israel attack on Iran, in Tehran on Saturday. AFP

Inside Iran, damage to infrastructure and residential buildings is mounting, while residents of the capital report growing anxiety and a heavy presence of security forces on the streets.

"I don't think anyone who hasn't experienced war would understand it," a terrified 26-year-old teacher told AFP on condition of anonymity. "When you hear the bombs, you have no idea where they will hit."

The Iranian health ministry put the civilian death toll at 926 on Friday, with around 6,000 injured — numbers that AFP could not independently verify.

Trump, who has given varying reasons for starting the war, has spurned fresh talks with Tehran, and said on Truth Social on Friday that "there will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER."

DEFIANCE

Trump has also promised to help rebuild the country's economy if Tehran installs someone "acceptable" to him to replace Iran's late supreme leader.

Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States would have no role in selecting Khamenei's successor.

People attend the funeral of Zainab Sahebi, a two-year-old child who was killed in a strike, in Tehran on Saturday. Reuters

"The selection of Iran's leadership will take place strictly in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people, without any foreign interference," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced support for an "immediate" ceasefire during a phone call with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday, the Kremlin said.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States is "not concerned" about reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on US troop positions and movements.

The war has killed six US service members and Trump is to attend the return of their bodies at a transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday.

Agence France-Presse