Donald Trump said Iran is being “beaten to hell” as he warned the country “will be hit hard today” after Tehran described the United States’s demand for an unconditional surrender as a “dream that they should take to their grave”.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian made the statement in a pre-recorded address aired by Iranian state television on Saturday morning, as he apologised for attacks on regional countries, insisting that Tehran would halt them.
Responding, the US president said on Truth Social that Iran halting strikes was a result of “the relentless US and Israeli attack”.
Mr Trump added: “Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behaviour, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.”
It came after Tehran’s Mehrabad airport was hit by explosions, with video footage showing a burning plane and plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
The Mehrabad airport is Iran’s busiest commercial airport and main domestic hub. It also serves the Iranian air force.
