Dubai, UAE. Explosions sent clouds of dark smoke over the Iranian capital early Saturday as Tehran fired missiles at Israel in retaliation, while the United States warned a forthcoming bombing campaign could be the most intense yet in the weeklong conflict.

There was no clear end in sight to the fighting. The administration of US President Donald Trump approved a new $151 million arms sale to Israel after Trump said he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender.” Iran’s UN ambassador said the country would “take all necessary measures” to defend itself.

Associated Press video showed explosions flashing and smoke rising over western Tehran as Israel said it had launched a broad wave of strikes. Loud booms were also heard in Jerusalem early Saturday as incoming Iranian missiles sent people rushing to bomb shelters across Israel.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from Israel’s emergency services.

In a sign of the widening conflict, sirens sounded early Saturday in Bahrain as Iranian attacks targeted the island kingdom. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed drones headed toward its Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile aimed at Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts US forces.

The United States and Israel have carried out strikes on Iran targeting its military capabilities, leadership, and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have shifted repeatedly, with US officials at times suggesting they seek to topple Iran’s government or encourage new leadership to emerge from within.

Meanwhile, Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike US military assets, according to two officials familiar with American intelligence. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing condolences over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Kremlin said.

Evidence also emerged suggesting an explosion that killed scores of Iranian students at a school may have been caused by US airstrikes targeting a nearby compound linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting that disruptions to Gulf energy exports could push oil prices to $150 per barrel.

Benchmark US crude rose above $90 a barrel on Friday for the first time in more than two years.

Trump Demands Iran’s “Unconditional Surrender”

In a social media post Friday, Trump wrote: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

After such a surrender — and the selection of “a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s)” — Trump said the United States and its allies would help rebuild Iran, making it “economically bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”

The comments raised new questions about the war’s endgame.

The conflict has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon, and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have also been killed.

Pezeshkian said on social media that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts, though he did not provide details.

Trump has also told media outlets he should be involved in choosing a replacement for Khamenei. He dismissed Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, widely seen as a possible successor, as “a lightweight.”

Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the comments, saying Iran “does not accept and will never allow any foreign power to interfere in its internal affairs.”

Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had begun discussing how to convene the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting the country’s next supreme leader.

US Official Warns of Biggest Bombing Yet

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview that the “biggest bombing campaign” of the war was still to come.

Israel says it has already heavily bombed an extensive underground bunker that Iranian leaders had planned to use during the conflict.

New information also suggests that a deadly Feb. 28 explosion at a school in the Iranian city of Minab, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) southeast of Tehran, may have been caused by US airstrikes.

Satellite imagery, expert analysis and statements from U.S. officials and military sources point to strikes targeting a nearby compound linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

Iranian state media said more than 165 people were killed in the blast, most of them children.

Iran has blamed both Israel and the United States for the explosion. Neither country has accepted responsibility, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US is investigating.

Add as a preferred source on Google +