‘Iran has surrendered …’: Trump takes credit for Tehran’s apology to neighbours; hints at targeting more leaders | World News
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned that Iran “will be hit very hard,” adding that because of “Iran’s bad behaviour,” new targets inside the country were being considered for “complete destruction and death.”Trump also claimed credit for Tehran’s apology to its Middle Eastern neighbours following a week of intense conflict in the region triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and destroyed multiple strategic infrastructure sites. Tehran responded with retaliatory missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and several Gulf states hosting US military bases, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.Posting on Truth Social, Trump said Iran had been “beat to hell” and forced to apologise after what he described as relentless attacks by the United States and Israel. He added that Tehran had pledged to stop firing at neighbouring countries and suggested the shift came because of sustained military pressure.In his post, Trump wrote, “Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless U.S. and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern countries.”“They have said, ‘Thank you, President Trump.’ I have said, ‘You’re welcome!’ Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East.’ They are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse! Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behaviour, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.” Trump’s remarks came hours after Iran issued a rare apology to neighbouring Gulf states following missile and drone strikes that hit their territories during the escalating conflict. The attacks targeted infrastructure and bases linked to the United States and its regional allies.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised on Saturday for attacks on regional countries, even as Iranian missiles and drones continued to fly toward Gulf Arab states, signalling that Tehran’s political leadership may not have full control over the country’s armed forces. He also rejected Trump’s repeated demands for surrender.Pezeshkian, one member of a tripartite leadership council overseeing Iran since a February 28 airstrike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, delivered the message exactly one week into a conflict that has spread across the region and shaken global markets.Earlier in the day, Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the 25th wave of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli positions and other regional assets, underscoring the continuing escalation.
