Iranian President adds condition for stopping attacks

Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran will also stop retaliatory attacks if attacks on Iran from US military bases in various countries in the Middle East stop. He made the announcement in a televised speech on Saturday.

In the speech, he said, "I apologize to the neighboring countries that Iran has attacked in the past few days. But we had no other choice. Because the Iranian people will never bow to the United States and Israel. Iran will never compromise on its independence, sovereignty and national interests."

He also said that the enemies want the Iranian people to surrender, but that will never happen.

Pezeshkian said that Iran's interim Security Council has decided that if attacks on Iran from neighboring countries stop, then Iran will also stop retaliatory attacks.

Talks between Tehran and Washington on Iran's nuclear program lasted for 21 days from February 6 to February 27. However, the dialogue ended without any agreement.

The next day, on February 28, the United States launched a military operation in Iran, Operation Epic Fury. At the same time, Israel launched its own operation in Iran, Operation Roaring Lion.

In response, Iran has been launching drone and missile attacks targeting US military bases in Israel and the Middle East. There have been reports of damage in several countries in the Middle East, although Iran has not yet started a direct full-scale war with any country.

Meanwhile, various international media outlets have reported, citing US intelligence sources, that Russia is providing intelligence support to Iran in the war. It has been claimed that Moscow is providing Tehran with information about the location of US military bases in the Middle East, the number of troops and military equipment through various intelligence channels.

It is worth noting that Iran's supreme religious leader Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war. After his death, a three-member interim leadership council was formed. President Pezeshkian is serving as its head.

Source: Reuters, AFP