Pezeshkian says his comments on attacks on Gulf countries ‘misinterpreted by the enemy’

By Reuters 8 March 2026, 8:25 am 1 Edit

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone attack in 2020 in Iraq, at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says his remarks yesterday were “misinterpreted by the enemy that seeks to sow division with neighbors,” state TV reports, after they were viewed as a decision to suspend attacks on Gulf countries while strikes did not stop.

“It has repeatedly been said we are brothers and must have good relations with neighbors. However, we are forced to retaliate to attacks but this does not mean we have a dispute with a [neighboring] country or want to upset their people,” Pezeshkian says.