Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reportedly apologised for launching attacks on neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid conflict with Israel and the US.
In a pre-recorded speech broadcast on state TV on Saturday, Pezeshkian said Iran’s neighbours will not be targeted unless attacks are launched from them during the war with Israel and the United States.
“The interim leadership council agreed yesterday that no more attacks will be made on neighbouring countries and no missiles will be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries,” Pezeshkian was quoted by several reports as saying.
According to Iran International, Pezeshkian also apologised to neighbouring countries, saying Tehran has no enmity with regional states.
He reportedly insisted that Tehran would halt the strikes and suggested they were caused by miscommunication in the ranks.
The leadership council has been leading Iran since last week’s killing of the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, in the US and Israel strikes which triggered a Middle East war.
Pezeshkian’s comments came as intense Iranian fire targeted the Gulf Arab states early Saturday as Israel and the US kept up their airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
There were repeated attacks Saturday morning on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported.
‘Unconditional surrender’
Iran’s president said on Saturday that a demand by the US for an “unconditional surrender” is a “dream that they should take to their grave,” according to the Associated Press.
US President Donald Trump had earlier in the day said he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender.”
He called for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” and noted a plan for the US and its allies to select a “GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s).”
“After that [surrender], and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” Trump said in a social media post on Friday.
Hours later, he hosted defense industry executives at the White House to underscore the need to step up production of critical weapons systems.
“They have agreed to quadruple Production of the ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity,” Trump posted on social media after the meeting, referring to the most expensive US hardware.
He repeated that the US has “a virtually unlimited supply” of medium- and upper-medium grade munitions.
According to Associated Press, the fighting 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 been killed.
Trump told media outlets that he should be involved in choosing a replacement for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war.
Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei – a front-runner to replace his father – calling him “a lightweight.”
Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned Trump’s statement and said Iran “does not accept and will never allow any foreign power to interfere in its internal affairs.”
About the Author
Akriti Anand
Akriti Anand is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint. She is a digital journalist with more than six years in the news industry.
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