US attacks water desalination plant on Qeshm island, claims Iranian FM

Earlier, US President Donald Trump warned that Iran could face severe military action, saying the country would be hit “very hard," after Tehran apologised to neighbouring Gulf states for recent strikes that targeted civilian sites in the region.

The remarks came after Iran issued an apology to neighbouring Arab countries, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying that the country’s neighbours will not be targeted unless attacks originate from their territory.

“Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behaviour, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,” Trump said in a statement on the social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said Tehran had apologised to its Middle Eastern neighbours and pledged to halt further attacks against them following sustained pressure.

“Iran, which is being beat to hell, has apologised and surrendered to its Middle East neighbours, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore,” he said.

“This promise was only made because of the relentless US and Israeli attack. They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern countries,” he added.

Trump also said that regional leaders had expressed gratitude to Washington for its actions.

“They have said, ‘Thank you President Trump.’ I have said, ‘You’re welcome!'" he wrote.

The US president further said Iran was no longer the “bully of the Middle East.”

“Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East.’ They are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse,” Trump said.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran's borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has attacked Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group.

The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran's temporary leadership council had approved suspending attacks on nearby countries—unless an attack on Iran came from those nations.

"I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran's actions," he said.

He later said on X: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently emphasised maintaining and strengthening friendly relations with regional governments on the basis of good neighbourliness and mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, this does not negate Iran’s inherent right to defend itself against military aggression by the United States and Israel.

"We stand firm to the last breath in defence of our country and resist. Iran's defensive operations are exclusively against targets and facilities that are the origin and source of aggressive actions against the Iranian nation, and we consider them legitimate targets. We have not attacked our friendly and neighbouring countries; rather, we have targeted US military bases, facilities, and installations in the region."

How far Pezeshkian's statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or why, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.

Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch rival Saudi Arabia—a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.

Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure—hotels, ports and oil facilities—was struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.

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