‘Enemy misinterpreted my words’: Iran President Pezeshkian after Trump’s surrender claim

Tehran: Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran would be “forced to respond” if its territory is attacked from neighbouring countries, as the conflict involving Iran, United States and Israel continues to escalate across the Middle East.

In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television, Pezeshkian said Tehran would retaliate if enemies attempted to launch attacks through neighbouring states. He stressed that such retaliation would be out of necessity and should not be interpreted as hostility towards those countries or their people.

The Iranian president also said his previous remarks had been misinterpreted by opponents attempting to create divisions between Iran and its regional neighbours. His comments came after US President Donald Trump claimed on social media that Iran had “lost” and “surrendered to Middle East neighbours”.

Meanwhile, the conflict has continued to intensify. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly launched a new wave of retaliatory strikes against Israeli and US installations in West Asia, describing the operation as the 27th phase of “Operation True Promise”.

According to Iranian state media, the latest attacks included missile strikes targeting US military facilities in the region, including bases in Kuwait.

Regional tensions have also led to casualties. Kuwait’s interior ministry said two border security personnel were killed while on duty near the country’s frontier.

The conflict has drawn further warnings from Washington. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a strong message on social media, warning that the United States would pursue and kill those responsible for threatening American citizens anywhere in the world.

Amid the escalating hostilities, reports have also suggested that the United States and Israel are considering potential operations to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, though details of such plans remain unclear.

The rapidly evolving crisis has raised fears of a wider regional war as missile exchanges, military strikes and diplomatic tensions continue to spread across the Middle East.