Tehran [Iran]: As the West Asia conflict entered Day 7 on Saturday, Iran appeared to have struck a note of reconciliation with its Gulf neighbours. In a televised address Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that a decision has been taken by the leadership council not to attack neighbouring countries.
Pezeshkian said, “I apologize to the neighbouring countries. We have no intention of invading other countries. The temporary leadership council announced yesterday that there will be no more attacks on neighbouring countries and no missile launches, unless attacks originate from those countries against Iran.”
At the same time, he struck a note of defiance ruling out any suggestion of Iran surrendering as the US-Israel intensified its campaign with greater firepower.
“They will take their dreams of us surrendering unconditionally to the grave,” he said.
The Iranian President’s response follows US President Donald Trump earlier declaring that there would be “no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender”, asserting that Tehran must capitulate before any diplomatic negotiations can proceed.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump emphasised that the US and its allies, particularly Israel, would only consider an agreement with Iran after the country’s leadership completely yields and is replaced by “great & acceptable leader(s)”.
He also articulated ambitions to help reconstruct Iran into a stronger nation following its capitulation, coining the phrase “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)” in an echo of his familiar political slogan.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER! After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. IRAN WILL HAVE A GREAT FUTURE. “MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!),”” his post read.
Earlier, Trump had expressed his desire to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next Supreme Leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel joint military strike last week, as reported by Axios.
In an exclusive interview with Axios, Trump said he wanted a role in the appointment of Iran’s next leader, drawing a comparison to his involvement in political developments in Venezuela in January following the capture of its former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a US military operation.
Meanwhile, the theatre of war has seen no relenting. A wave of Israeli airstrikes in Tehran and central Iran on Friday night targeted several key Iranian military sites, including an underground ballistic missile factory and a military academy, the IDF said.
According to the Israeli military, more than 80 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped 230 bombs on the targets during the strikes. Among the targets was a subterranean site “for the storage and production of ballistic missiles, from which hundreds of soldiers from the armed forces of the Iranian terror regime operated,” the IDF said.
Countering that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that on Friday night it had launched the 23rd wave of Operation True Promise 4, highlighting the deployment of new-generation missile systems against targets in the occupied territories and US bases across the region. According to the statement, the latest wave involved advanced missile systems designed to strike multiple targets. (ANI)
