Iran says it will halt attacks on neighboring countries 

BAGHDAD — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced Saturday that Tehran would stop attacking neighboring countries, apologizing for strikes he attributed to a breakdown in military command following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded televised address. Iran’s interim leadership council, he said, had decided that “no more attacks will be made on neighboring countries and no missiles will be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries.”

Gulf states including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE reported intercepting missiles and drones Saturday morning. A drone appeared to strike near Dubai International Airport shortly after Pezeshkian’s address aired.

In Iraq, Iran-aligned militias continued striking the Kurdistan Region. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed 23 attacks in 24 hours on Saturday, targeting Erbil International Airport, Peshmerga headquarters in Sulaymaniyah, hotels and what it described as American bases. The Kurdistan Region has endured more than 110 missile and drone attacks since the war began.

Iran has also struck bases of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region, amid reports the groups — united in a coalition since Feb. 22 — are preparing a cross-border offensive into western Iran.

Pezeshkian said U.S. demands for Iran’s unconditional surrender were “a dream that they should take to their grave.”