Offer from Iran’s president to not attack neighbours provokes internal backlash | US-Israel war on Iran

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian’s surprise offer not to attack neighboring countries unless their airspace and US bases on its territory are used to attack Iran caused a storm within the country as the military contradicted him, even openly rejecting him.

There were also calls for a new religious leader to be installed as quickly as possible, as a way of marginalizing the president. Attacks on facilities in Bahrain and elsewhere continued, and there were unconfirmed reports that Bahrain was the first Gulf nation to strike back at Iran.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi appeared focused on the possibility of escalation rather than de-escalation.

“The United States has committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island. The water supply in 30 villages has been affected. Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous act with serious consequences. This precedent was set by the United States, not Iran.”

There are nearly 400 water purification plants across the Gulf, and if they begin to be seen as legitimate targets, within days the region could face a drinking water crisis of unimaginable proportions.

Reaction to Pezeshkian’s offer was further exacerbated when Pezeshkian apologized to the region on behalf of himself and the nation in a pre-recorded speech on state television.

He also hinted that the rudderless armed forces may have been forced to make targeting decisions on their own after the US attacked the high command. He claimed that they fired voluntarily.

Pezeshkian’s stance was not helped by President Trump’s characterization of his offer as a capitulation, describing it as Iran being forced to admit defeat against its regional rivals for the first time in a millennium. Pezeshkian said that especially those who want Iran to surrender will take this desire to the grave.

But Pezeshkian, who was not always a clear communicator and did not always have the authority to make decisions, insisted that his proposal was the result of a collective decision made by the interim tripartite group that ruled the country after the assassination of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Others said it was due to detailed talks with Gulf countries in recent days.

Internal discord also shows how power is dispersed and established lines of authority shift in wartime; This development is prompting some clergy and hard-line newspapers to call for elections for a new religious leader as quickly as possible.

Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, for example, said that “an election is vital in light of the ongoing political confusion.” The announcement is likely to come this weekend.

The apparent delay in the 88-member Assembly of Experts choosing a new leader may be due to deadlock or to give moderate political forces within the country a chance to gain the upper hand in war strategy.

It is noteworthy that at least three high-profile political prisoners have been released since Khamenei’s murder. Trump said Iran must approve its future leadership.

Inside Iran, Pezeshkian’s remarks were met with a number of comments and questions, including whether all US bases remain legitimate targets or are being used only to attack Iran.

The anger of Gulf countries against the attacks grows even more as they claim that they have clearly communicated to Iran that US bases and airfields will not be used in American attacks. Moreover, Iran did not just attack US facilities. Countries such as Qatar also complained that oil refineries, hotels and airports were hit.

There was little official response in the Gulf to Pezeshkian’s remarks. Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers will meet on Sunday.

A Western diplomat called the president’s speech a “single data point,” adding that it was unclear whether the decline in Iranian attacks was a policy choice or a product of military necessity.

In the face of criticism about what exactly had been agreed upon, Mehdi Tabatabaei, the president’s deputy director for communications, insisted Pezeshkian’s message was “clear.” “If the regional countries do not cooperate with the American attack, we will not attack them. The Islamic Republic of Iran will never bow to force, and our strong armed forces will resolutely respond to any attack from US bases in the region.”

In his five-minute speech, Pezeshkian said: “There will no longer be missiles fired at these countries unless an attack on Iran comes from these countries.” He called on the Gulf countries not to become “toys in the hands of imperialism”.

But the armed forces have made clear their disapproval of the president, which could still lead to divisions between the military and some politicians.

In the statement made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the following statements were made: “The Armed Forces, following the orders of our President, repeatedly declare that they respect the interests and national sovereignty of neighboring countries and have not yet attacked them.

“However, in continuation of the previous acts of aggression, all military bases and interests of the guilty America and the fake Zionist regime in the region on land, sea and space will be subjected to crushing and violent blows by the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The state department also did not reiterate the president’s offer, instead saying that “defensive operations are directed against targets and facilities that are the origin and source of aggressive acts against the nation or that serve such objectives.”

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said: “Before the ‘Ramadan war’ started, we clearly announced to every country in the region that if America takes military action against Iran, we will definitely target American bases, that these bases are considered American territory, not the territory of the countries in the region, and that this policy has not changed in any way and will continue with determination.”

Stating that the President’s words should not be “misused or questioned”, the officials continued: “If the radars of these bases are active and guiding the planes operating against Iran, we will target those bases.”

Mashhad MP Ali Asghar Nakhaeirad warned: “Arab countries that provide bases to the enemy and allow them to be used to attack our country… are at least accomplices in the martyrdom of our beloved leader, 167 primary school children and approximately 2,000 of our citizens. In all legal systems in the world, their accomplices do not apologize, they are punished.”

“It is unwise to apologize to our leader’s accomplices or accomplices whose martyrdom is more valuable than our lives. He said the alternative is to destroy the palaces of the emirs.”

Hamidriza Moghaddamfar, media advisor to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, appeared more supportive of the president’s line during an appearance on television, saying that the restriction was “no action against Iran from bases in regional countries; that’s the main message.”

The following statements were made in the statement: “The countries in the region have not been our target so far and they know it. The aim of our attacks is only the interests and positions of the USA in the region, including military bases, air bases, missile systems and ships, which are our targets.”

Moghaddamfar said: “Regional countries have stated many times from the beginning that they were harmed. We also apologized to them from the very beginning.” He suggested that the talks led to a new understanding with Gulf countries that US bases would not be used to attack Iran.

Mashallah Shemsolvaezin, a member of the government information council, emphasized that the president’s apology was received very positively. “On the one hand, this shows his personal humility, and on the other hand, it shows the flexibility of Iran’s foreign policy towards neighboring countries.”