New attacks in Gulf follow Iran’s president’s statement; Water desalination plant on Qeshm island attacked
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Photo: Reuters
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused US President Donald Trump of effectively ending Tehran’s pledge not to target neighbouring countries after Washington used regional bases to carry out attacks against Iran.
In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Araghchi said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously signalled openness to regional de-escalation on the condition that neighbouring countries did not allow their airspace, territory or waters to be used for attacks against Iran.
However, he said that gesture was quickly undermined by Washington’s actions.
“President Pezeshkian’s openness to de-escalation within our region-provided that our neighbors’ airspace, territory, and waters are not used to attack the Iranian People-was almost immediately killed by President Trump’s misinterpretation of our capabilities, determination and intent. If Mr Trump seeks escalation, it is precisely what our Powerful Armed Forces have long been prepared for, and what he will get.”
He said that responsibility for any intensification of Iran’s exercise of self-defense will lie squarely with the US administration.
“Mr Trump’s week-long misadventure has already cost the US military $100 Billion, in addition to the lives of young soldiers. When markets reopen, that cost will balloon and directly be transferred to ordinary Americans at pumping stations,” the statement read.
“Mr Trump’s own National Intelligence Council, representing input from the 18 intelligence agencies of the US, determined that war on Iran is destined to fail.”
“I also warned Mr Trump’s envoys that war will not improve their bargaining position. Were these warnings conveyed?”
He noted that the American people voted to end involvement in costly quagmires in the Middle East. “Instead, they have ended up with an Administration that Netanyahu, after decades of failed attempts, finally managed to dupe into fighting Israel’s wars.”
“This is a war of choice pursued by a small cabal of ‘Israel Firsters’, and ‘Israel First’ always means ‘America Last’,” he added.
Larijani warns regional states
Separately, top national security official Ali Larijani warned regional countries over the use of their territory for attacks against Iran.
In a message posted on X, Larijani said Iran would continue responding to attacks originating from bases in neighbouring states.
“When the enemy attacks us from bases in the region, we respond — and we will continue to respond. This is our right and a standing policy. Regional countries must either prevent the US from using their territory against Iran, or we will have no choice but to do it ourselves.”
Iranian officials have repeatedly argued that the use of regional bases for attacks risks widening the conflict and drawing neighbouring countries directly into the confrontation, as tensions continue to escalate across the Middle East.
Israel and Iran traded attacks as the Middle East war entered a second week on Saturday, while Tehran made an unusual apology to neighbouring states, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He dismissed US President Donald Trump’s demand for the Islamic Republic’s unconditional surrender as “a dream”, but said its temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Trump nonetheless cast Iran’s apology as a surrender, while saying the country would be “hit very hard” on Saturday and warned the US could widen its attacks to areas and groups of people that were not previously designated targets.
Pezeshkian’s comments caused a political stir in Iran, prompting his office to reiterate Iran’s military would respond firmly to attacks from US bases in the region.
Hamid Rasai, a hardline cleric and lawmaker, wrote on X, “Mr Pezeshkian, your stance was unprofessional, weak and unacceptable”. Hours after Pezeshkian’s announcement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
The Revolutionary Guards also targeted US forces at a base in Bahrain, the Iranian state media said. Blasts were also heard in Doha, a Reuters witness said.
Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Iran’s judiciary chief, said evidence from Iran’s armed forces indicates that the territory of some regional countries was being used to carry out attacks against Iran.
Heavy strikes on those targets will continue, said Mohseni-Ejei, who is also a member of the interim leadership council set up after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on his compound at the start of the conflict.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Loud explosions were heard in Dubai, the Qatari capital Doha and Bahrain, while attacks were later reported in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, where the national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to production.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said in a rare televised address that the Emirates were in “a period of war” and “will emerge stronger” from the war, which has entered its second week.
Earlier in the day, Dubai closed its main airport — the world’s busiest for international traffic — after authorities said an unidentified object was intercepted nearby. A witness told AFP of a loud explosion in the area followed by a cloud of smoke, while footage authenticated by AFP recorded the sound of a drone followed by a loud explosion and plumes of smoke close to an airport concourse.
The government said there had been “a minor incident resulting from the fall of debris after an interception”, without directly mentioning the airport. It said there were no injuries.
The Flightradar24 tracking website earlier showed planes circling above the airport in an apparent holding pattern.
In a statement since deleted from X, Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, had announced it was suspending all flights to and from Dubai until further notice, but later said it had resumed operations.
The UAE, a US ally and home to American military installations, has been the most heavily targeted nation in the Gulf during the war.
The Ministry of Defence said that of the 16 ballistic missiles fired at the country on Saturday, all but one had been intercepted, with that missile falling into the sea.
Of the 121 drones detected, 119 were brought down, while two fell within Emirati territory.
The barrage brings the number of ballistic missiles detected by the UAE since the start of the war last Saturday to 221, the defence ministry said, with the number of drones surpassing 1,300.
Iranian attacks have also hit Abu Dhabi airport, the upmarket Palm Jumeirah development and the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel over the past week, while drone debris caused a fire at the US consulate in Dubai on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in the Gulf on Saturday, Qatar’s defence ministry said its military had intercepted two missile attacks targeting the country.
In Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry said it had destroyed three ballistic missiles heading towards Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts American troops, as well as 17 drones over the Shaybah oil field in the southeast.
Kuwait also reported intercepting a drone, while the country’s national oil company announced a “precautionary” cut to its production of crude due to Iranian attacks and threats to the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for Gulf hydrocarbons.
Further north, Jordan accused Iran of directly targeting sites in the kingdom, saying Tehran had fired 119 missiles and drones in the past week.
“These missiles and drones were targeting vital installations inside Jordan and were not passing through our territories,” said military spokesman Brigadier General Mustafa Hayari.
The Iranian foreign minister accused the United States of targeting a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, disrupting supplies to more than two dozen villages.
“The US committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island,” Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on microblogging site X.
“Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences,” he further stated, warning that “the US set this precedent, not Iran.”
