DUBAI — Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, rejected U.S. calls for an “unconditional surrender,” calling the demand “a dream that they should take to their grave,” in a prerecorded address aired by state television Saturday. At the same time he apologized for recent Iranian attacks on neighboring countries, said Tehran would stop such strikes and suggested they resulted from miscommunication within the armed forces after the killing of top leaders.
Pezeshkian said Iran’s three-man leadership council had been in contact with the armed forces. “I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” he said, adding that Iran would not attack neighbors unless first attacked and that diplomacy should be used to resolve disputes. He blamed the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials for what sounded like a loss of command and control; Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has driven much of the fighting, answers only to the supreme leader. Khamenei, 86, was killed in an Israeli strike at the start of the war on Feb. 28.
The comments came as U.S. and Israeli airstrikes continued to batter Iran, targeting military sites, leadership and nuclear-related infrastructure. Associated Press video showed explosions and smoke over western Tehran after Israel said it had launched broad strikes. U.S. officials warned a heavier bombing campaign was coming. The Trump administration approved a $151 million arms sale to Israel and President Donald Trump said he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the “biggest bombing campaign” of the war was still to come. Iran’s U.N. ambassador said Tehran would “take all necessary measures” to defend itself.
The fighting has spread across the region. Early Saturday, Iran launched repeated attacks on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Sirens sounded in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed drones en route to its Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile headed for Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces. Dubai reported several blasts and activated air defenses; passengers at Dubai International Airport were moved into train tunnels during the alert. Emirates briefly suspended flights to and from Dubai before resuming operations.
The wider impact on energy and markets was flagged by Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, who warned the war could “bring down the economies of the world” by shutting Gulf energy exports and pushing oil toward $150 a barrel; U.S. benchmark crude rose above $90 a barrel on Friday. Regional analysis in Al Jazeera warned Iran may be making “a strategic miscalculation of historic proportions,” arguing that by striking Gulf states Tehran risks transforming the conflict into one between Iran and its Arab neighbors.
On the diplomatic and security front, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister met Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Riyadh to discuss ways to stop Iranian attacks; Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have a mutual defense pact treating an attack on one as an attack on both. Incoming missiles also prompted air-raid responses across Israel; loud booms were heard in Jerusalem, with no immediate reports of Israeli casualties.
Hezbollah reported clashes with Israeli forces that landed in eastern Lebanon late Friday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed in subsequent Israeli strikes and 35 were wounded; overall Lebanese officials say more than 200 people have been killed and more than 800 wounded since the recent Israeli strikes. Across the broader fighting, officials reported at least 1,230 dead in Iran, more than 200 dead in Lebanon, around a dozen dead in Israel and six U.S. troops killed.
