Cornered, Iran Urges Gulf States to Understand Tehran's Moves
Tehran has warned Gulf states that Iran faces a cornered position amid ongoing tensions with the United States and Israel, telling its neighbours that Teheran ‘has no choice’ but to respond to ongoing attacks. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would strive to avoid war through diplomacy, but that US-Israeli actions have compelled Tehran to consider retaliation. He added: ‘We respect your sovereignty’, in two posts on X in Arabic and Persian, stressing that security in the region must be achieved through collective regional efforts.
The comments followed a telephone conversation between Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in which Doha rejected claims that Tehran targets only US interests in the country. Earlier, analysts suggested that the United States and Israel would continue to coordinate their pressure on Iran, though their strategic aims may not be fully aligned. Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, noted that while Washington signals a preference for changes in Tehran, it publicly prioritises defeating Iran’s nuclear programme, ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies. Campbell also observed that Israel remains more explicit about seeking regime change.
As the conflict persists, experts warned there could be growing differences between Israeli and American objectives, and it remains unclear how much of these aims can be achieved purely through air operation. Local Iranian media reported 160 deaths in air strikes by the United States and Israel on a southern Iranian girls’ school. President Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran would not bow to enemy intimidation and called for national unity to overcome political and economic pressure. He marked Iran’s commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Revolution by insisting on rejecting aggression from the United States while remaining open to dialogue and verification of a peaceful nuclear programme.
Separately, five people were killed in two gas explosions in Iran, an event that occurred as former President Trump claimed discussions with Tehran were ongoing. A committee of 18 independent experts monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child urged protecting children from the consequences of warfare. The Chinese government condemned the air strikes by the United States and Israel on public facilities in Iran, which reportedly killed civilians. Iran, the world’s third-largest oil producer in the OPEC cartel, continues to pump around 4.5% of global oil supply. Rosatom said it had evacuated nearly 100 people from Iran. The United States Embassy in Kuwait issued an emergency warning about threats from missiles and drones, while the IRGC claimed to have crippled Ali Al Salem Air Base and advised American citizens to shelter in place.