Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that the country would never surrender to Israel or the United States, as the regional conflict enters its second week.
Speaking in a nationally televised address, Pezeshkian told the world that Iran’s enemies "must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves."
The remarks came after Israel and the United States carried out strikes against Iran on February 28, resulting in the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and igniting a broader conflict across the Middle East. Since then, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli and US interests in the region, particularly in Gulf nations.
Pezeshkian, who is part of a three-member interim leadership council overseeing Iran after Khamenei’s death, also addressed neighbouring countries affected by Iran’s strikes.
"I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran," he said, adding that the council has agreed to halt further attacks unless aggression comes directly from those countries.
"The interim leadership council agreed yesterday that no more attacks will be made on neighbouring countries and no missiles will be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries," Pezeshkian emphasised, signalling a shift in Iran’s regional engagement while maintaining a firm stance against its main adversaries.