West Asia war: Hours before apologising, Iran struck THESE neighbours
Iran’s president said the country will not surrender to the US or Israel and apologised to neighbouring nations for recent attacks. However, hours earlier, Iranian drone and missile strikes had targeted several regional countries hosting US bases.
Iran won’t surrender
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday (Mar 7) said that his country will not surrender to the United States and Israel after the US President’s latest warning that there will be “no deal” with Tehran unless it agrees to an “unconditional surrender”. Iran’s enemies “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” he said.
Iran apologises
Pezeshkian also apologised to Gulf nations, saying that his country will not target its neighbours unless attacked. However, just hours before his statement was released on state broadcast TV, Tehran targeted the UAE, Qatar, and Iraq in attacks.
Here are the Gulf nations Iran targeted just hours before apology:
Iraq
Iranian drones struck airports and oil facilities in Iraq late Friday (Mar 6). The strikes came after US-led troops shot down several drones over the Kurdish city of Erbil following a warning of possible attacks on hotels. Officials said that Baghdad International Airport, which houses a military base and a US diplomatic facility, “came under a series of attacks” with drones and missiles.
UAE
On Saturday (Mar 7), Dubai suspended flights at its main airport after an explosion was heard. In an X post, authorities described “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception”. Iran also said that it launched drone attacks targeting US bases in the UAE.
Bahrain
Explosions were heard in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Saturday amid Iran’s retaliation. Sirens were heard in the city as the government urged residents to “head to the nearest safe place”.
Kuwait
On Saturday, Iranian forces launched drone attacks on neighbouring Kuwait. “The Iranian Navy targeted American bases and occupied territories with a massive wave of drone attacks,” the army said in a statement.
Qatar
On Friday (Mar 6), Iran targeted Qatar with 10 drones, Doha's defence ministry said in a statement. “Qatar was subjected to waves of attacks from the Islamic Republic of Iran involving 10 drones, starting from dawn on Friday,” the statement read. It added that the military “successfully intercepted nine drones, while one drone struck an uninhabited area, without causing any casualties.”
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.
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