US President Donald Trump threatened further military strikes against Iran on Saturday, saying Tehran had "apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors" after coming under sustained US and Israeli attacks.
"Iran, which is being beat to hell, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that Iran would be hit "very hard" again and that additional targets were now under consideration.
Trump's remarks came hours after Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would halt attacks on neighbouring countries unless attacks against Iran originated from their territory.
"We do not intend to violate or assault our neighbouring countries. They are our brothers," Pezeshkian said in remarks broadcast on Iranian state television. He added that Iran's temporary leadership council had instructed the armed forces "not to attack neighbouring countries or fire missiles at them unless attacks on us are carried out from those countries."
Pezeshkian also apologised to Middle Eastern states struck during the past week of hostilities.
Despite Tehran's claim that it has instructed its forces not to target neighbouring countries, missile and drone activity across the Mideast Gulf region continued on Saturday.
The UAE said its air defence systems intercepted 15 out of 16 ballistic missiles and 119 out of 121 drones launched toward the country. One missile fell into the sea and two drones landed within UAE territory, according to the defence ministry.
Saudi Arabia earlier said its air defences intercepted 20 drones launched in five waves toward Saudi state-controlled Aramco's 1mn b/d Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert. The attempted strike marked the first attack on a major upstream oil asset since the conflict began.
The UAE's air defence systems were also intercepting incoming projectiles on Saturday, while Dubai International Airport temporarily suspended operations earlier in the day after debris from an intercepted projectile fell near the facility, according to the Dubai Media Office. UAE airline Emirates later said flights had resumed and operations returned to normal.
Iran has launched repeated missile and drone attacks across the Middle East, including on civilian targets, in retaliation for US and Israeli air strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities that began on 28 February.
The escalation has sharply lifted crude prices. North Sea Dated crude rose by nearly $23.50/bl in the week to 6 March, the largest weekly gain since Argus records began in early 1990.
The US is also reinforcing its military posture in the region. The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, previously deployed in the eastern Mediterranean near Israel, has entered the Red Sea region, according to the US Naval Institute, citing Pentagon photographs showing the carrier and the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge transiting the Suez Canal on Thursday.
The deployment places the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier within the area of responsibility of US Central Command, where Iran-aligned Houthi forces have targeted both US warships and commercial shipping for more than two years.
Separately, the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush and its strike group completed a training exercise on Thursday that certifies it for global deployment, the US Navy said.
