Iran’s president has rejected a demand by US president Donald Trump for his country’s unconditional surrender and has apologised for Iran’s attacks on regional countries.
Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Friday, a dramatic escalation of his demands a week into the war the US has launched alongside Israel.
In a pre-recorded address aired by Iranian state television, president Masoud Pezeshkian said the US demand is a “dream that they should to take to their grave”.
He also apologised for Iran’s attacks on regional countries, insisting that Tehran would halt them and suggesting they were caused by miscommunication in the ranks.
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The comments came as intense Iranian fire targeted the Gulf Arab states on Saturday morning as Israel and the United States kept up their air strikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
There were repeated attacks on Saturday morning on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
In Dubai, several blasts were heard on Saturday morning and the government said it had activated air defences.
Passengers waiting for flights out at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, found themselves ushered down into train tunnels at the sprawling airfield after the alert sounded.
Later that morning, long-haul carrier Emirates resumed operations, after briefly suspending all flights to and from Dubai.
Trump’s remarks on social media were a setback to hopes for a quick end to the conflict. They came after the Iranian president said some countries have begun mediation efforts to end the war, without providing details. Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and Oman have all offered to mediate since the war started on Saturday.
Axios reported that US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Arab foreign ministers on Thursday that the war is expected to last several more weeks. Israeli military officials said the army has attack plans for the coming weeks in Iran.
Early on Saturday missiles were seen flying towards Israel as the Israeli military 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 the capital Tehran. Israel also attacked neighbouring Lebanon, where it said it was hitting Iranian and Hizbullah targets.
Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport was struck, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The Saudi defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, urged Iran on Saturday to “avoid miscalculation” after missile and drone launches at the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said earlier in the day it had blocked repeated missile launches at an airbase housing US military personnel and drone attacks at a major oilfield.
Elsewhere, explosions have been heard on Saturday in Dubai and in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, AFP has reported.
Clashes erupted as Israeli forces attempted a landing operation along the Lebanon-Syria border, with Hizbullah saying its fighters were involved, Lebanese official media reported on Saturday.
The Israeli military said it struck the Iranian leadership’s main bunker in Tehran on Friday. The bunker complex, under the compound of slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was being used by senior Iranian officials and was destroyed. Israel said it was assessing which regime figures were eliminated.
Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said on Friday that at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have died so far in the conflict with Israel and the US, and that thousands more have been injured.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations in New York, Iravani asserted that the US and Israel had deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure, while Iran had targeted military sites, not civilians.
The US and Israel have said the opposite is the case. Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel.
The number of projectiles Iran is firing towards Israel has declined significantly. In Lebanon, the pro-Iranian Hizbullah militia is maintaining rocket and drone fire from the north, despite evacuation orders issued by Israel to hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens in areas under Hizbullah control.
Lebanon’s health ministry said 217 people have been killed since Monday and the United Nations has expressed concern that Israel’s forced displacement of residents could be a violation of international law.
The UN refugee agency, Unrwa, declared the Middle East situation a humanitarian emergency. About 300,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon in the past four days, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The headquarters of Ghana’s United Nations peacekeeping battalion in Lebanon was hit by missile attacks on Friday, leaving two soldiers critically injured, Ghana’s armed forces said in a statement.
Ghanaian soldiers are deployed as part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) mission of which Ireland is also a part.
Irish troops and bases were not targeted or hit in the missile attack, the Defence Forces said in a statement. However, it confirmed the Ghanaian UN post was struck by fire “which has resulted in casualties”.
“Irish Defence Forces personnel of the 127th Infantry Battalion have responded and are providing both casualty evacuation and fire fighting assistance. All necessary force protection measures continue to be observed and all Irish personnel are well and accounted for,” it said.
A Unifil spokesman said “amidst heavy firing”, three peacekeepers were injured inside their base in Al Qawzah, southwestern Lebanon.
“It is unacceptable that peacekeepers performing security council-mandated tasks are targeted. We strongly remind all actors of their obligations under international law to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and properties at all times.
“Any attack on Unifil peacekeepers constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law ... and may amount to a war crime.”
Meanwhile, the first repatriation flight for Irish citizens stranded in the Gulf is due to leave Oman on Saturday. The flight was due to depart from Muscat to Dublin on Friday, but Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said it had been delayed. Department sources indicate 180 people are due to fly on the aircraft.
The war has led policing agency Europol to warn that Europe is facing a “heightened” level of threat from lone-wolf terror attacks. “The conflict has immediate repercussions for serious and organised crime and terrorism in the EU,” said a Europol spokesman.
“The terrorist and violent extremist threat level on EU soil is assessed to be heightened.” – Additional reporting: Reuters
