Iran pounds Arab countries with missiles despite Iranian president’s apology and promise they would stop

Pezeshkian apologized to Arab Gulf states for the effects of Iranian drone and missile strikes aimed at US bases.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Reports of explosions emerged across parts of the Gulf on Saturday evening, including in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as regional tensions persisted despite earlier remarks from Iran’s president suggesting attacks in the area could stop.

In Bahrain, witnesses described hearing multiple loud blasts. It was not immediately known whether the sounds were caused by missiles striking targets or by air defense systems intercepting them.

Iran’s official Fars news agency reported that there were “massive explosions at US bases in Bahrain.”

Bahraini authorities later said damage had been recorded in the capital.

The Bahraini Ministry of the Interior wrote in a social media post that “Iranian aggression caused a fire and material damage to a house and several surrounding buildings in Manama.”

Elsewhere in the Gulf, additional explosions were reported. CNN staff in Qatar said they heard several loud bangs, while journalists in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, reported at least three blasts.

The UAE’s National Security Council said defensive systems were responding to the situation.

In a message posted on X, the council said, “Air defense systems are currently responding to a missile threat,” and urged residents to “remain in a safe location.”

The reported blasts came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier addressed the impact of Iranian attacks on neighboring countries.

Pezeshkian apologized to Arab Gulf states for the effects of Iranian drone and missile strikes aimed at US bases and said Iran would halt attacks on neighboring countries unless it was attacked first.

Later, his office issued what it described as an “explanation” of his comments.

According to the statement, Pezeshkian’s position was that “if regional countries do not cooperate in America’s attack on us, we will not attack them.”

Despite those remarks earlier in the day, the explosions reported Saturday evening suggested that tensions across the Gulf remained high, with several countries in the region hosting US military facilities and operating air defense systems in response to missile threats.