Iran's President promised an end to strikes on neighboring Persian Gulf countries, but with a caveat

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized to the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf in his prominent address on Saturday morning, stating that Tehran would stop striking its neighbors if attacks on Iran did not originate from these countries, UNN reports with reference to CNN.

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"I personally apologize to the neighboring countries that have been attacked by Iran," he said on state television. "We have no intention of attacking neighboring countries. As I have repeatedly said, they are our brothers."

He added that the three-member Council, which temporarily governs Iran, "has told the armed forces that from now on there should be no attacks on neighboring countries or missile strikes, unless they themselves want to attack us from these countries."

"I think we need to resolve this through diplomacy, not fight and have problems with neighboring countries," Pezeshkian added.

He urged the Persian Gulf countries not to become "a toy in the hands of imperialism," warning them against attacking Iranian territory.

It is unclear whether the Iranian president's statement takes effect immediately. After the address, interceptions continued over the United Arab Emirates, and sirens wailed in Bahrain, the publication writes.

This came after a week of almost continuous Iranian bombardments of its Persian Gulf neighbors, leading to the closure of the region's airspace and causing an influx of travelers trying to leave the Middle East.

CNN called it "Iran's first significant message" of de-escalation, but with one significant caveat.

As noted, Pezeshkian's comments caused a sigh of relief in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. "However, the shells that flew overhead shortly after his speech show that it is too early to talk about a cessation of Iranian attacks," the publication notes.

And it noted that his comments were accompanied by the condition that the territories of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, where several large American military bases are located, would not be used for strikes against Iran. In the context of the region's uncertain future, the publication notes, it remains unclear what actions the Iranian armed forces and their proxies consider hostile to the Islamic Republic.

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