Iranian president apologizes to Gulf neighbors, says will halt strikes unless attacked

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to Arab Gulf nations in a remarkable address on Saturday morning, saying Tehran would stop striking its neighbors unless any attacks on Iran originated from those countries, CNN reports.

He added that the three-member leadership council temporarily ruling Iran had “told armed forces that from now on there should be no attack on neighboring countries or hit missiles unless they would want to attack us from those countries.”

“I think we need to solve this with diplomacy rather that fighting and having problems with neighboring countries,” he said, according to the CNN report. 

He urged Gulf nations not to become a “plaything in the hands of imperialism,” warning them not to attack Iranian territory, the report says.

It’s not clear if the president’s announcement comes into effect immediately. After the address, interceptions continued over the United Arab Emirates and sirens rang in Bahrain, as per the CNN report. 

This comes after a week of near-constant Iranian bombardment of its Gulf neighbors, closing down the region’s airspace and triggering a rush of travelers trying to leave the Middle East, the report says.