Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed Saturday that his country will never bow to U.S. demands for unconditional surrender, even as Tehran pledges to stop striking neighboring states unless provoked. The declaration comes amid a grinding second-week war ignited by U.S. and Israeli assaults on Iran, with Iranian drones and missiles still hammering Israeli and Gulf targets.
President Donald Trump dismissed Pezeshkian's overtures, boasting that Iran had already yielded to its neighbors and warning of devastating counterstrikes if aggression persists. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired back, labeling all U.S. and Israeli bases as prime targets should the attacks continue.
Regional Escalations Mount
Casualties climbed as Israeli forces raided the Lebanese town of Nabi Chit, killing at least 41 people in air and ground operations. Saudi defenses downed two Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at Prince Sultan airbase and intercepted drones bound for the Shaybah oilfield.
A Friday assault on a UN base in southern Lebanon left three Ghanaian peacekeepers seriously wounded. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the strike, stressing that UN sites must remain off-limits and perpetrators face justice. Ghana filed a formal UN complaint, branding the incident a potential war crime and demanding a thorough probe. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pointed fingers at Israel, while UNIFIL launched its own investigation.
Pezeshkian's Apology and Shift
In a prerecorded TV address, Pezeshkian expressed regret to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Oman for recent Iranian strikes—actions he attributed to command breakdowns after the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top figures. "I apologize on my own behalf to neighbors we've hit," he stated, per reports. Going forward, Iran will respond only to direct attacks from those nations, he added, urging diplomatic solutions over escalation. He rejected Trump's surrender call as an impossible fantasy.
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