DUBAI — In a prerecorded address aired on state television, President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday dismissed a U.S. demand for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as “a dream that they should take to their grave.” He also issued an apology for recent Iranian attacks on neighboring countries, saying Tehran would stop such strikes and attributing recent incidents to miscommunication within the armed forces after the killing of the country’s supreme leader and other senior officials.
The remarks came amid continued heavy exchanges: intense Iranian fire targeted Gulf Arab states early Saturday while Israel and the United States conducted further airstrikes against Iranian targets. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all reported repeated attacks Saturday morning as the wider conflict showed no sign of abating.
The U.S. administration approved a $151 million arms sale to Israel following U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration that he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender.” U.S. officials warned a forthcoming bombing campaign could be the most intense yet in the weeklong war, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying on television that the “biggest bombing campaign” was still to come. Iran’s U.N. ambassador responded that the country would “take all necessary measures” to defend itself.
Associated Press video showed explosions and smoke over western Tehran as Israel said it had begun a broad wave of strikes. The United States and Israel have targeted Iran’s military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program, and officials at times have signaled shifting goals and timelines, including suggestions about toppling Iran’s government or elevating new leadership.
Officials reported heavy casualties: at least 1,230 people killed in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and about a dozen in Israel. Six U.S. troops have also been killed.
The conflict expanded Saturday as air-raid sirens sounded in Bahrain during Iranian attacks on the island kingdom. Saudi officials reported shooting down drones headed for the Shaybah oil field and intercepting a ballistic missile launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces.
In Dubai, several explosions were heard and authorities activated air defenses. Passengers at Dubai International Airport were directed into train tunnels after alerts sounded; Emirates initially suspended all flights to and from Dubai but later resumed operations, drawing cheers from sheltered travelers. Officials did not immediately confirm whether the airport had been struck or whether interceptions had occurred.
Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, warned the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could push oil toward $150 a barrel. U.S. benchmark crude had risen above $90 on Friday. A regional analyst writing for Qatar-funded Al Jazeera cautioned that Iran may be making “a strategic miscalculation of historic proportions” by expanding the conflict into Gulf states, potentially turning it into a confrontation between Iran and its Arab neighbors.
Saudi and Pakistani defense officials met Saturday to discuss halting attacks they say originated from Iran, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman spoke with Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Riyadh; the two countries share a mutual defense pact that treats an attack on one as an attack on both.
In Israel, incoming missiles sent people to bomb shelters across the country and loud booms were heard in Jerusalem, though there were no immediate reports of casualties. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has led much of the fighting and answers only to the supreme leader, was cited in Pezeshkian’s explanation that the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, at the start of the war on Feb. 28 had disrupted command and control.
Pezeshkian said Iran’s three-member leadership council had been in contact with the armed forces. “I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” he said. “From now on they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked from those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”
In Lebanon, the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah reported clashes with an Israeli force that landed late Friday in eastern Lebanese mountains. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed in subsequent Israeli strikes and 35 wounded; Israeli authorities did not immediately confirm the reported clash. Israel has carried out repeated airstrikes on southern Beirut suburbs, areas with a strong Hezbollah presence as well as many civilians; Lebanon’s Health Ministry says more than 200 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since Monday and over 800 wounded.