Iran's President Apologises to Gulf States Attacked by Iran

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has apologised to neighbouring states for attacks by Iran across the region, saying those states would not be targeted unless an attack originated from them. ‘I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran,’ he said in a speech broadcast on Iran’s state television, reported by AFP on Saturday, 7 March 2026. ‘The interim Leadership Council yesterday agreed that there will be no more attacks on neighbouring countries and that no missiles will be fired unless the attack on Iran originates from those countries,’ he added. The Leadership Council has led Iran since the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week in a US and Israeli strike that has sparked a war in the Middle East. Pezeshkian also said that his country would never surrender to Israel and the United States, as the Middle East war enters its second week. ‘Iran’s enemies must carry the desire for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,’ Pezeshkian said in his Saturday address. Israel and the United States began launching a major assault on Iran on 28 February. Iran has since responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel and US interests in regional states, particularly in the Gulf.