Tehran [Iran] March 7 : Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a televised address to the Iranian people called on them to join hands to defend the country even as he warned the US that there was no question of surrender.
"Unfortunately, there is a trend where, disregarding all international laws, they bomb wherever they please, not refraining from targeting schools, hospitals, and various centres within the country...We must all join hands and powerfully defend our water, soil, and land. We stand ready to give our lives to pull our Iran proudly out of this crisis. As for the idea of us surrendering unconditionally, they must take such a dream to their graves," the Iranian President said.
The Iranian President's response follows US President Donald Trump earlier declaring that there would be "no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender", asserting that Tehran must capitulate before any diplomatic negotiations can proceed.
Pezeshkian further sought to play on the sentiment of Muslim unity as he apologised to Gulf neighbours for the attacks on their soil and said that there will be no further atack on neighbours.
"We have no intention of aggression against neighbouring countries; as I have said time and again, they are our brothers. We must join hands with these dear ones in the region to establish peace and tranquillity. I hope that what happened will change based on the decision we took yesterday in our temporary leadership council. This decision has been reported to the armed forces: that from now on, they should not attack or fire missiles at neighbouring countries unless those countries intend to attack us. I believe we must resolve this through diplomacy rather than facing problems by fighting with neighbouring countries," he said
"And I send this message to neighbouring countries where some groups or factions are thinking of using this opportunity to attack our soil: it is better not to become playthings of imperialism. We may have differences, we may have complaints against one another, but right now, supporting Israel, which is committing genocide, and America, which is bullyingbecoming a puppet in the hands of colonialists and genocide enablers is very bad for those who imagine they want to achieve their own freedom and honour," he added.
Pezeshkian also called on Gulf states to sit down and iron out differences together and not fall prey to US-Israel designs.
"Honour cannot be attained alongside foxes, liars, and criminals. If we have a difference, it is better we sit down and solve it together, but let us not become playthings of Israel and America," he said.
Meanwhile, the theatre of war has seen no relenting. A wave of Israeli airstrikes in Tehran and central Iran on Friday night targeted several key Iranian military sites, including an underground ballistic missile factory and a military academy, the IDF said.
According to the Israeli military, more than 80 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped 230 bombs on the targets during the strikes. Among the targets was a subterranean site "for the storage and production of ballistic missiles, from which hundreds of soldiers from the armed forces of the Iranian terror regime operated," the IDF said.
Countering that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that on Friday night it had launched the 23rd wave of Operation True Promise 4, highlighting the deployment of new-generation missile systems against targets in the occupied territories and US bases across the region. According to the statement, the latest wave involved advanced missile systems designed to strike multiple targets.
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