‘Iran will be hit very hard today,’ Trump warns of wider targets after Tehran apologises to Gulf states

US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that Iran could face severe military action, saying the country would be hit “very hard”, after Tehran apologised to neighbouring Gulf states for recent strikes that targeted civilian sites in the region.

The remarks came after Iran issued an apology to neighbouring Arab countries, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying that the country’s neighbours will not be targeted unless attacks originate from their territory.

“Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,” Trump said in a statement on the social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said Tehran had apologised to its Middle Eastern neighbours and pledged to halt further attacks against them following sustained pressure.

“Iran, which is being beat to hell, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore,” he said.

“This promise was only made because of the relentless US and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern countries,” he added.

Trump also said that regional leaders had expressed gratitude to Washington for its actions.

“They have said, ‘Thank you President Trump.’ I have said, ‘You’re welcome!’,” he wrote.

The US president further said Iran was no longer the “bully of the Middle East.”

“Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East.’ They are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse,” Trump said.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has attacked Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group.

The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s temporary leadership council had approved suspending attacks on nearby countries – unless an attack on Iran came from those nations.

“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” he said.

How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or why, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.

VIDEO: REUTERS

Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch rival Saudi Arabia – a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.

Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure – hotels, ports and oil facilities – were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.

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While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.

Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.

It is too soon to say whether Pezeshkian’s comments mean Iran has decided to curtail that strategy in deference to future ties with Gulf neighbours, or if they should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region.

Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.

“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

“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,” he added.

The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.

Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.

Russia is expected to back Iran’s “legitimate rights against aggression” by using its international capabilities, Pezeshkian told Putin over the phone, Iran state media reported.

‘We will crush them’

Early on Saturday, the Iranian army said its navy had carried out drone strikes against targets in Israel as well as US gathering points and bases in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, in an apparent response to the US attack on its ship IRIS Dena that killed dozens of sailors.

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The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it struck three positions of separatist groups in Iraq’s Kurdistan region at 4:30am local time.

A spokesman for the armed forces warned that if separatist groups in the Kurdistan region take any action against Iran’s territorial integrity, “we will crush them.”

The Israeli military earlier said it had identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. Explosions could be heard as Israeli defences activated to shoot down incoming Iranian fire.

Shortly after the barrage, the Israeli army said it had begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Tehran. Israel also attacked neighbouring Lebanon, where it said it was hitting Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport was struck, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. There was no immediate comment from Iran’s Guards or Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

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The war has roiled global markets and oil prices have hit multi-year highs with the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut. About one-fifth of global oil moves daily through the strait.

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Washington will provide reinsurance for losses up to $20 billion in the Gulf region to bolster confidence for oil and gas shippers, the US International Development Finance Corp said.

Trump has said the US Navy could escort ships in the Gulf. But Iran’s Revolutionary Guards challenged him to do so, with spokesperson Alimohammad Naini saying Iran “welcomes” and is “awaiting” any US presence in the strait, state media said.

Trump also reiterated his demand to have a say in selecting Iran’s new supreme leader, a notion rejected by Iravani.

The ambassador said new leadership would be selected “in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people – without any foreign interference.”

Iran has described the conflict as an unprovoked attack and the killing of Khamenei as an assassination.