The Islamic Republic’s apology to neighboring countries shows it is beginning to crack under the “relentless U.S. and Israeli attack,” President Donald Trump said on Saturday.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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,” he added.
He continued, “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!”
Trump warned that the Islamic Republic will be “hit very hard” on Saturday, with new areas and groups of people targeted “because of Iran’s bad behavior.”
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized in a televised statement for attacks on regional countries, suggesting they occurred due to miscommunication in the ranks, Reuters reported.
The statement was delivered on Iranian state TV hours after Tehran bombed Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Pezeshkian said that the interim leadership—filling in for the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—had approved the suspension of attacks on neighboring states, the report continued.
He pledged that Iran will halt launching projectiles at its neighbors as long as Iran is not attacked from their territory.
Washington’s demand that Tehran surrenders unconditionally is a “dream that they should take to their grave,” Pezeshkian vowed, Reuters reported.
On Friday, Trump said that the Islamic Republic won’t secure any sort of agreement with the United States short of waving the white flag.
“There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender,” the president stated.
“After that, and the selection of a great and acceptable leader,” or leaders, “we and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” he said. “Iran will have a great future.”
The president referred to “MIGA,” or “Make Iran Great Again.”
In an interview with CNN on Friday morning, Trump said that the United States is “doing very well militarily—better than anyone could have even dreamed,” rating the war efforts a 12 or 15 out of 10.
He told Dana Bash of CNN that Iran made a “terrible mistake” by attacking the Gulf states and the transition to new leadership in Iran will “work like it did in Venezuela.”
The next Iranian leader must treat the United States and Israel well, Trump said. He told CNN that rising fuel costs related to the conflict are “short term.”
“It’ll go way down very quickly,” he said.