Trump ‘kills’ Iran’s Gulf de-escalation gesture, FM says

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused US President Donald Trump of effectively ending Tehran’s pledge not to attack neighboring countries after Washington used regional bases to carry out strikes against Iran.

In a statement issued on X Saturday, Araghchi said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously signaled openness to regional de-escalation on the condition that neighboring countries did not allow their airspace, territory or waters to be used for attacks against Iran.

However, he said the gesture was quickly undermined by Washington’s actions.

“President Pezeshkian’s openness to de-escalation in our region—provided our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian people—was almost instantly killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, resolve, and intent. If Mr. Trump seeks escalation, it is our powerful armed forces, exactly as he has long been prepared for.”

He said responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s exercise of self-defense would rest squarely with the US administration.

“Mr. Trump’s week-long misunderstanding has already cost the US military $100 billion, in addition to the lives of young soldiers. When markets reopen, the costs will balloon and be directly passed on to ordinary Americans at the pump,” the statement read.

“Mr. Trump’s own National Intelligence Council, representing input from the 18 intelligence agencies of the United States, determined that the war against Iran is destined to fail.”

“I also warned Mr. Trump’s emissaries that war will not improve their negotiating position. Were those warnings conveyed?”

He noted that the American people voted to end involvement in expensive swamps in the Middle East. “Instead, they have ended up with an administration that Netanyahu, after decades of failed attempts, finally managed to trick into fighting Israel’s wars.”

“This is an electoral war pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters,’ and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last,'” he added.

Larijani warns regional states

Separately, top national security official Ali Larijani warned regional countries about the use of their territory for attacks against Iran.

In a message issued on X, Larijani said Iran would continue to respond to attacks originating from bases in neighboring states.

“When the enemy attacks us from bases in the region, we respond – and we will continue to respond. This is our right and a standing policy. Regional countries must either prevent the United States from using their territory against Iran, or we will have no choice but to do it ourselves.”

Iranian officials have repeatedly argued that using regional bases for strikes risks widening the conflict and drawing neighboring countries directly into the confrontation as tensions continue to escalate across the Middle East.

Israel and Iran traded blows as the Middle East war entered a second week on Saturday, with Tehran issuing an unusual apology to neighboring states in an apparent attempt to quell regional anger over Iranian attacks on civilian targets in the Gulf.

“I personally apologize to neighboring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

He dismissed US President Donald Trump’s demand for the Islamic Republic’s unconditional surrender as “a dream”, but said its interim leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on neighboring states unless attacks on Iran originate from their territory.

Trump nonetheless framed Iran’s apology as a capitulation, saying the country would be “hit very hard” on Saturday and warning that the United States could expand its strikes to areas and groups of people not previously targeted.

Pezeshkian’s comments caused a political stir in Iran, prompting his office to reiterate that Iran’s military would respond firmly to attacks by US bases in the region.

Hamid Rasai, a hardline cleric and lawmaker, wrote on X: “Mr Pezeshkian, your attitude was unprofessional, weak and unacceptable”. Hours after Pezeshkian’s announcement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat center at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently confirm this report.

The Revolutionary Guards also targeted US forces at a base in Bahrain, Iranian state media said. Explosions were also heard in Doha, a Reuters witness said.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s chief justice, said evidence from Iran’s armed forces indicates that the territory of some regional countries was used to carry out attacks against Iran.

Heavy attacks on those targets will continue, said Mohseni-Ejei, who is also a member of the interim leadership council created after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on his compound at the start of the conflict.

Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.

Loud explosions were heard in Dubai, the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain, while attacks were later reported in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the national oil company announced a “cautious” cut in production.

United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rare televised address that the Emirates were in “a period of war” and “will emerge stronger from the war, which has entered its second week.

Earlier in the day, Dubai closed its main airport – the world’s busiest to international traffic – after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby. A witness told AFP of a loud explosion in the area followed by a plume of smoke, while footage confirmed by AFP captured the sound of a drone followed by a loud explosion and plumes of smoke close to an airport hall.

The government said there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris following an interception”, without directly naming the airport. It said there were no injuries.

The Flightradar24 tracking website previously showed aircraft circling the airport in an apparent holding pattern.

In a statement that has since been deleted from X, Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, had announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai until further notice, but later said it had resumed operations.

The United Arab Emirates, a US ally and home to US military installations, has been the most targeted nation in the Gulf during the war.

The Defense Ministry said that of the 16 ballistic missiles fired at the country on Saturday, all but one had been intercepted, with the missile falling into the sea.

Of the 121 drones detected, 119 were brought down, while two fell within Emirati territory.

The barrage brings the number of ballistic missiles detected by the United Arab Emirates since the start of the war on Saturday to 221, the defense ministry said, with the number of drones exceeding 1,300.

Iranian strikes have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the exclusive Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel over the past week, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, Qatar’s defense ministry said on Saturday that its military had intercepted two missile attacks targeting the country.

In Saudi Arabia, the defense ministry said it had destroyed three ballistic missiles headed for Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts US troops, as well as 17 drones over the Shaybah oil field in the southeast.

Kuwait also reported intercepting a drone, while the country’s national oil company announced a “precautionary reduction” in its crude output due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for hydrocarbons in the Gulf.

Further north, Jordan accused Iran of directly targeting sites in the kingdom, saying Tehran had fired 119 missiles and drones in the past week.

“These missiles and drones targeted vital installations inside Jordan and did not pass through our territories,” military spokesman Brigadier General Mustafa Hayari said.

Iran’s foreign minister accused the United States of targeting a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, disrupting supplies to more than two dozen villages.

“The US committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island,” Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on the X microblogging site.

“The water supply of 30 villages has been affected. Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous step with serious consequences,” he added, warning that “the US set this precedent, not Iran.”