Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said neighbouring countries will no longer be targeted, unless an attack originates from there, as the war launched by the United States and Israel, which triggered sustained retaliation from Tehran across the Gulf and beyond, enters its second week.

The Iranian interim leadership council approved the motion on Friday, Pezeshkian said on Saturday.

In remarks carried by Iranian media, the president also apologised to neighbouring countries for the strikes that took place in recent days.

Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran said, The Iranian president’s statement “is a deescalation, however small, in a very escalated situation as it is day eight of the initiation of the US and Israeli strikes across Iran. We have received reports of a continuation of these air attacks in more than 170 cities.”

Pezeshkian’s comments were in a prerecorded five-minute statement. “He began with a reference to the residential areas, schools and hospitals being attacked, in a breach of international law and regulations. He went on to call for unity and solidarity among people to defend the sovereignty of the country. He also sent a strong message to the Americans, saying what they want is an unconditional surrender, and they will ‘carry that dream to their graves’ “, Asadi said.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, all the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, have been targeted due to the presence of US assets within and around their borders. Iraq, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye have also been caught in the crosshairs.