New Delhi (India) March 7:Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised on Saturday to neighbouring countries for recent attacks as the regional confrontation escalated, claiming Tehran also had no intention of invading other countries, even while the confrontations between Iran and Israel and between Tehran and the United States escalated.
Pezeshkian is one of three members of an interim leadership council that now oversees the Islamic Republic following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israel strikes on February 28.
No More Strikes Unless Iran Is Targeted First
In an address aired live on television, Pezeshkian said Iran’s transitional leadership council decided on suspending attacks on neighbouring countries and blocking missile action on the region unless targeted countries launched attacks towards Iran.
Pezeshkian said the leadership council had authorized a measure to halt strikes against neighbouring countries in the region without curbing the country's right to respond when Iran was attacked.
“I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran. 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,” he said.
Neighbors on High Alert as Missiles Strike Across Gulf
Hours after Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an apology for launching attacks on neighbouring countries, from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, the UAE said it intercepted 15 ballistic missiles and 119 drones as Iran apparently continued its assaults on its Gulf neighbour.
In Dubai a loud explosion was also heard later in the evening. The string of events arrives as the Israel-Iran-US conflict that has continued its eight-day run on Saturday on the eighth day.
UAE Intercepts 15 Missiles, 119 Drones from Iran
The latest comments from Iran’s president occur as the Middle East faces one of its most volatile security landscapes in years. These days, reports of missile launches, drone drills and air defence intercepts have echoed throughout many regions of the region.
Governments have escalated security alerts and kept a watchful eye on possible advances on aviation routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure. Iran’s leadership, for now, seems to strike a balance between the two: it is reassuring neighbouring countries that they are simply not targets, and maintaining a defiant posture in response to the United States and Israel.