TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday, March 7, 2026, that Iran will never surrender to Israel and the United States as the war in the Middle East enters its second week.
Iran’s enemies, he said, “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves,” in a televised government address.
Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran on February 28, killing the Islamic Republic’s top leader Ali Khamenei and triggering a wider regional conflict.
Iran responded with missile and drone strikes on Israel and on U.S. interests across the region, particularly in the Gulf.
Pezeshkian is one of three members of an interim leadership council that has been governing Iran since Khamenei’s assassination.
During his address, Pezeshkian apologized to neighboring countries affected by Iranian strikes, saying Tehran would avoid targeting them unless attacks against Iran originated from their territory.
“I must apologize on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran,” he said, as quoted by Al Arabiya.
“The interim leadership council agreed yesterday 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.”
However, tensions remained high across the region. Qatar said it had intercepted a missile attack shortly after Iranian media aired footage of Pezeshkian’s remarks.
Resul Serdar, an Al Jazeera journalist who closely follows Iranian politics, said the president’s influence over military decisions is limited.
According to Serdar, political leaders in Iran mainly manage administrative affairs, while strategic decisions such as foreign policy and national security are largely controlled by the country’s top leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Political figures in Iran are responsible for running state affairs and ‘non-strategic’ affairs. But when it comes to strategic affairs, such as the country’s foreign and security policies, politicians don’t have a say, including the president, who, according to the constitution, is the number two in charge – this is a very well-known fact in Iran,” Serdar said.
With Iran now facing what it views as an existential threat, Serdar said the Revolutionary Guards are likely to take the lead in deciding whether further attacks are carried out.
“They will decide whether to attack or not,” he said, adding that the new IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi is widely regarded as one of the organization’s most hardline commanders.
“II don’t think Pezeshkian or other politicians will have any influence when it comes to security politics,” Serdar added.
Read: Indonesian Military Chief Issues Highest Alert Order After US Strike on Iran
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