Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has suggested countries are actively trying to de-escalate the ongoing conflict across the Middle East.
Without naming the countries involved in peace discussions, Pezeshkian said any talks should address those who started the war.
‘Some countries have begun mediation efforts. Let’s be clear: we are committed to lasting peace in the region yet we have no hesitation in defending our nation’s dignity and sovereignty,’ said Pezeshkian in a post on X.
‘Mediation should address those who underestimated the Iranian people and ignited this conflict.’
Pezeshkian is part of the three-person leadership council formed to govern Iran on a temporary basis in the immediate aftermath of the supreme leader’s death last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Iran launched new retaliatory attacks at the end of a full week of bombardment, which US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned was ‘about to surge dramatically.’
Iranian missiles struck a hotel and two residential buildings in Bahrain as the kingdom’s capital Manama faced a barrage in the latest attack on the Gulf State.
Qatar have declared its navy was targeted as strikes rained down on Bahrain as sailors were being hosted in a building hit by Iran.
Saudi Arabia has intercepted three drones near Riyadh this morning and residents in Dubai received alerts on their phone ordering them to take immediate shelter.
The Islamic Republic had vowed the US would ‘bitterly regret’ torpedoing one of its warships as it sent hundreds of drones and missiles at its Arab neighbours.
And on Friday morning, Israel’s military said it had begun ‘a broad-scale wave of strikes’ on Tehran, Iran’s capital.
Witnesses described the Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
