Iran’s president dismisses surrender demands, warns enemies to bury them
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Iran would not surrender to the United States and Israel, rejecting calls for “unconditional surrender” as the regional war entered its second week.
In a speech broadcast on state television, Pezeshkian said Iran’s enemies “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves.”
The remarks come after US and Israeli strikes on February 28 that Iranian authorities and multiple media reports said killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a widening conflict across the Middle East. Iran has since launched missile and drone attacks on Israel and on US-linked interests in several regional countries, particularly in the Gulf.
Pezeshkian, who sits on a three-member interim leadership council formed after Khamenei’s death, also sought to reassure neighbouring states after Iranian strikes in the region. “I must apologise… to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran,” he said, adding that they would not be targeted unless attacks originated from their territory.
He said the interim council had agreed to halt strikes on neighbouring countries going forward. “No more attacks will be made on neighbouring countries, and no missiles will be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries,” he said.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
