Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has walked back recent remarks about 'halting' strikes on Gulf countries following strong domestic criticism from hardline officials.
On Saturday, Pezeshkian issued a televised apology to regional states targeted by Iranian attacks over the past week, adding that Tehran had decided not to hit neighbouring countries unless assaults originated from their territory.
Despite this, Iranian strikes on the Gulf continued throughout Saturday and into the night, expanding to include key infrastructure such as desalination plants, airports and government buildings.
The apology drew a sharp response from US President Donald Trump , who on Truth Social described it as a sign of Iran backing down after "relentless US and Israeli attack(s)".
Trump warned that "today Iran will be hit very hard", hours before Washington and Tel Aviv launched a bombardment of Tehran, striking multiple oil facilities.
Inside Iran, Trump’s comments triggered backlash from conservatives.
Pezeshkian, who took office as a reformist, faced attacks from hardliners accusing him of weakening Iran’s position amid the conflict.
Hamid Rasaee, a leading figure in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, called the president’s remarks "astonishing, unprofessional, weak, and unacceptable" in a post on X, seen by analysts as a clear sign of growing factional divisions within Tehran’s leadership.
By Sunday, Pezeshkian appeared to shift tone, telling state TV his earlier words had been "misinterpreted by the enemy that seeks to sow division among neighbours".
He reaffirmed that Iran views its regional counterparts as "brothers" with whom it seeks strong relations but added that the country "is forced to respond to attacks".
Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran would retaliate against any assault from any state, describing such responses as "a necessity imposed by circumstance".
In clarifying his earlier apology, Pezeshkian stressed that his remarks were meant as "an expression of concern for the people distressed by the regional conflict", rather than an admission of weakness. Questions over military leadership During Saturday’s broadcast, Pezeshkian also addressed military operations, noting that both the Iranian military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had acted independently after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and much of Iran’s senior leadership .
"Because our commanders and our leader lost their lives due to this brutal aggression, our armed forces, left without commanders, acted on their own authority", Pezeshkian was quoted by The New York Times as saying.
Analysts say his comments have intensified uncertainty over who currently directs Iran’s war effort following Khamenei’s death, as he had personally overseen the country’s military strategy.
With a successor yet to be named, regional observers see Pezeshkian’s remarks as reinforcing perceptions of his limited authority within a security apparatus long dominated by the military.
Pezeshkian is believed to have come under pressure from hardline factions to project a tougher stance towards both the United States and neighbouring Gulf states.
In his revised remarks on Sunday, he concluded that any escalation against Iranian territory would provoke an even stronger response, stressing that the armed forces "will defend the homeland and have not retreated, and will not retreat, in the face of force, injustice, and aggression".