Iran has continued to carry out missile and drone strikes on Gulf states despite promise by President Masoud Pezeshkian that Tehran would not target neighbouring countries unless attacks originated from their territories in the ongoing face-off with the US and Israel.
A resident of Dubai was killed on Saturday after debris from
an aerial interception of a strike fell on a vehicle in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
According to the Dubai media office, the incident happened
in the Al Barsha area. Authorities identified the deceased as an Asian driver
but provided no further details.
The incident happened in the evening, just as the UAE said
it was responding to “incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”.
Iran has conducted missile and drone strikes on multiple US
military bases in Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait
— as retaliation for the “pre-emptive” strikes launched by the US and Israel
last Saturday.
Earlier, Pezeshkian apologised to the neighbouring countries
affected by the retaliatory attacks.
Pezeshkian said the armed forces had been ordered “not to
attack neighbouring countries unless attacked first”.
Hours after his statements, Qatar’s ministry of defence said
its armed forces had “intercepted” a missile attack.
A separate strike in the UAE later led to the death of a
resident.
Officials said air defence systems were intercepting
ballistic missiles, while fighter jets were targeting drones and other aerial
vehicles.
The attack occurred shortly after previous alerts of
incoming Iranian strikes were issued in the UAE.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry also announced
that a ballistic missile has been launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base, near
the city of Al-Kharj, but that it fell in an “unpopulated area”.
‘COMPLICIT COUNTRIES WILL BE TARGETS’
Iran has maintained that its attacks on the Gulf countries
do not interfere with their national sovereignty but are only focused on US
military bases.
“Before the start of the ‘Ramadan war’, we clearly announced
to each and every country in the region that if America takes military action
against Iran, we will definitely target American bases; these bases are
considered American territory and not the territory of the countries in the
region; this policy has not changed in any way and will continue with
determination,” Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the parliament’s national
security and foreign policy commission, said.
However, states such as Qatar have complained that oil
refineries, hotels, and airports have also been hit by Iranian strikes.
After Pezeshkian’s comments, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) issued a statement saying the country’s military “respect the
interests and national sovereignty of neighbouring countries and have not yet
attacked them”.
“However, in the continuation of previous offensive actions,
all military bases and interests of the criminal America and the fake Zionist
regime on land, sea and space in the region will be subjected to crushing and
fierce blows by the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the
IRGC added.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for the Iranian military,
noted that countries that do not provide their space, land, and resources to
enemies will not be targeted and will maintain their security.
Shekarchi said any country that allows its airspace or land
to be used against Iran will be regarded as a target.
The Gulf states’ anger about the attacks has been reported
to be growing since claiming they had clearly communicated to Iran that the US
bases and their airspace would not be used in the American attacks.
Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers are due to meet
on Sunday.
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