New Delhi: Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday said the United States’ demand that Iran surrender unconditionally is unrealistic and something Washington will have to “take to its grave”. In his address, Pezeshkian also expressed regret over attacks carried out by Iran on some Middle Eastern countries and said Tehran would stop such incidents.
“Iran’s enemies must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” he said in a speech broadcast on state television.
Iran prez apologises for strikes
He apologised for the strikes, saying they occurred due to a misunderstanding within the military establishment. According to him, Iran does not intend to continue such actions. “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.
His statement came even as Iran launched fresh attacks early Saturday targeting several Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, Israel and the United States have continued carrying out airstrikes on Iranian targets.
Iran’s strike on neighbours
For the past few days, Iran has been launching missiles at neighbouring countries, targeting American interests, in retaliation for the killing of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The strikes have hit several Gulf locations, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The administration of US president Trump has, meanwhile, approved the sale of $151 million worth of new weapons to Israel. Trump has said the United States will not engage in talks with Iran unless Tehran agrees to an unconditional surrender.