Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to Gulf Arab nations in a statement on Saturday morning, saying that Tehran would cease attacks against its neighbors unless any attacks against Iran originated from those countries.
“I personally apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran,” he said in a statement broadcast on state television.
“We have no intention of attacking neighboring countries. As I have said repeatedly, they are our brothers,” he added.
He added that the three-member leadership council that governs Iran has temporarily “informed the military that from now on there should be no attacks against neighboring countries and no launch of missiles unless they want to attack us from those countries.”
“I think we need to resolve this with diplomacy, instead of fighting and creating problems with neighboring countries,” he said.
He urged Gulf nations not to become “toys in the hands of imperialism”, warning them not to attack Iranian territory.
It is unclear whether the president’s announcement takes effect immediately. After the statement, interceptions continued over the United Arab Emirates and sirens sounded in Bahrain.
This comes after a week of near-constant bombings by Iran against its Gulf neighbors, closing the region’s airspace and provoking travelers to leave the country.
What is happening in the Middle East?
Os United States and Israel began a wave of attacks against Iran on Saturday (28), amid tensions over the Iranian nuclear program.
The ayatollah regime began retaliation against countries in the Middle East that host North American military bases, including: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.
On Sunday, Iranian state media announced that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was one of the victims of US and Israeli attacks.
Following the announcement of Khamenei’s death, Iran threatened to launch the “heaviest offensive” in history. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the Persian country considers taking revenge for attacks by Israel and the United States as a “legitimate right and duty.”
In response, Trump threatened Iran against retaliatory strikes, saying “they better not do this, because if they do, we will hit them with force never seen before.” The attacks between the parties continue this Sunday.
