Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian apologized to the Arab Gulf states in an address on Saturday morning, saying Tehran will stop striking its neighbors unless attacks on Iran come from these countries.
“I personally apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran,“ he said in a broadcast on state television. “We have no intention of attacking neighboring countries. As I have said many times, they are our brothers.“
He added that the three-member leadership council temporarily ruling Iran had “told the armed forces that from now on there should be no attacks on neighboring countries or hitting us with missiles unless they want to attack us from those countries.“
“I think we should solve this through diplomacy, not through fighting and problems with neighboring countries,” he added.”
He called on Gulf states not to become “a toy in the hands of imperialism“, warning them not to attack Iranian territory.”
It was not clear whether the president's announcement would take effect immediately. Following the address, interceptions continued over the United Arab Emirates, and sirens were sounded in Bahrain.
This comes after a week of near-constant Iranian bombing of its Gulf neighbors, closing the region's airspace and causing a rush of travelers trying to leave the Middle East.
On Saturday morning, the security threat level was raised by Qatari authorities. "Everyone is required to stay indoors, refrain from going out and stay away from windows and open areas to ensure public safety," the ministry said.
The Qatari Ministry of Defense later said that a ballistic missile attack from Iran had been intercepted.
"The security threat has been eliminated and the situation has returned to normal," the authorities said in a subsequent statement.
Around the same time as the warnings, Iranian state media reported that a combined missile and drone attack had been carried out against Qatar and Bahrain.