Trump: "They (Iran) suddenly started apologizing to Middle Eastern countries. You can see this as a victory for us and the Middle Eastern countries that are truly friendly to us. I think they won't fire at them anymore — they have apologized. This is surrender. I call it surrender.":
This was a post by Trump on the "Truth Social" platform on March 7, claiming that Iran had "apologized and surrendered" to its neighbors and threatened to increase the intensity of strikes.
Persian President Pezeshkian did indeed say, "It is necessary to apologize to neighboring countries that were attacked," and emphasized "no intention to invade neighboring countries." However, he also strongly rejected Trump, calling the demand for Iran's "unconditional surrender" a "dream that can only be taken to the grave."
Trump interpreted Iran's apology aimed at easing regional tensions as "surrender," but the Iranian official clearly rejected this statement, highlighting a fundamental contradiction in their statements.
Trump is urgently seeking a "victory" to demonstrate the effectiveness of his hardline policies and define the other party's gestures of de-escalation as submission; while Iran needs "dignity" and must show a stance of not yielding to power domestically, avoiding being confirmed in the "surrender" accusation.
Regarding the current and future trends of war, military and diplomatic efforts will proceed in parallel. Trump's remarks imply that the strike may escalate; although Iran has shown diplomatic goodwill, after the assassination of Supreme Leader Khamenei, the successor may take a hard-line stance.
Today, the White House spokesperson said that regarding the US-Iran war, the president said that if Iran surrenders, it is an American victory. However, if Iran does not surrender, there will be no victory for the United States, and the war will continue. Trump's remarks indicate that he defines Iran's appeasement towards neighboring countries as surrender, showing that his definition of surrender is entirely based on his own needs, implying his urgent desire to end the war quickly.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859061997102096/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.