Trump rules out talks without Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’

US President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender”.

- Associated Press

The US and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the US has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran's government or elevate new leadership from within.

The war has escalated to affect more than a dozen countries across the Middle East. London police said on Friday that four men have been arrested on suspicion of aiding Iran by spying on the Jewish community. Iran has been linked to previous attacks abroad on Iranian dissidents, Israelis and Jewish targets.

Qatar's energy minister warned that the war could “bring down the economies of the world”, predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to $150 a barrel. Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times newspaper that even if the war ended immediately it could take “weeks to months” to resume normal exports after an Iranian drone strike on Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas plant earlier in the war.