Iran makes unexpected apology as tensions worsen after Trump warns regime ‘surrender or die’
Iran has apologized for missile strikes against neighbouring Arab countries, and made a promise about any future attacks as Donald Trump warned them to 'surrender or die'.
US and Israeli forces have been carrying out strikes against Iran since February 28, after negotiations about the Iranian nuclear program concluded without an agreement.
Now, Trump has warned that he will not make any deal with Iran except 'unconditional surrender', while Israel has also started bombing Beirut in Lebanon.
Following the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel, as well as many neighbouring Arab countries.
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These have included the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Iraq.
However, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian has now issued an apology to the neighbouring countries that Iran has targeted.
Speaking on Iranian state television, Pezeshkian said: “I deem it necessary to apologise to neighbouring countries that were attacked.”
Pezeshkian went on to say: "We do not intend to invade neighbouring countries,” and issued an appeal to 'establish peace and calm'.
The Iranian president also said that Iran will not strike a neighbouring country unless an attack against Iran originates there.
He confirmed that an order had been issued to the armed forces, saying: “From now on, do not attack neighbouring countries unless attacked first.”
Nonetheless, Pezeshkian's apparent conciliatory tone towards Iran's neighbours stopped short when it came to addressing the US, saying that their call for Iranian surrender 'is a dream that they should to take to their grave'.
Trump has already made a chilling threat towards Iran, writing on Truth Social: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
The US president also said that the US would 'work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before'.
Pezeshkian also addressed other middle eastern countries about the US, warning: “Those considering exploiting this moment to attack Iran must not become puppets of imperialism.”
Trump has now responded to Pezeshian's apology, claiming that it is a 'surrender'.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Iran 'has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore'.
He added: "This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack."
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in the attacks, and the country is now in the process of selecting a new Supreme Leader.
Khamenei was only the second Supreme Leader since the Iranian revolution in 1979, after Ruhollah Khomeini.
His successor will likely be the first person in the position not to have had a direct role in the revolution which saw Iran's Shia Islamist government seize power.
Topics: News, US News, World News, Donald Trump, Iran
Kit Roberts