Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has apologised to neighbouring countries impacted by retaliatory airstrikes during the week-long conflict with Israel and the United States.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on several US military bases in Gulf nations — including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait — in response to what it described as “preemptive” strikes by the US and Israel.
In a state-wide broadcast, the president took a softer tone on Saturday while speaking in a video message aired by Iranian state television.
“I deem it necessary to apologise to neighbouring countries that were attacked,” Pezeshkian said. “We do not intend to invade neighbouring countries.”
The president called for regional cooperation to “establish peace and calm”.
Pezeshkian added that a leadership decision has been issued to the armed forces to “not attack neighbouring countries unless attacked first”.
“Those considering exploiting this moment to attack Iran must not become puppets of imperialism,” he said.
The president added that supporting Israel or the US is “not a path to honour and freedom”.