Iran will never surrender to US and Israel: Pezeshkian

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Iran will never surrender to Israel and the United States, as the Middle East conflict has entered its second week.

Speaking in a speech broadcast on state television, Pezeshkian said Iran would not give in to pressure from its enemies.

Iran’s enemies “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” Pezeshkian said.

The conflict began after Israel and the United States launched strikes on February 28 that martyred Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a wider regional conflict.

Since then, Iran has carried out missile and drone attacks on Israel and on US interests in several countries in the region, mainly in the Gulf.

Pezeshkian is one of three members of an interim leadership council currently leading Iran after Khamenei’s death.

During his speech, Pezeshkian also apologized to neighboring countries for Iran’s attacks in the region and said those countries would not be targeted unless attacks on Iran came from them.

“I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran,” he said.

“The interim leadership council agreed yesterday that no more attacks will be made on neighbouring countries, and no missiles will be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries.”