Iran’s president said authorities have instructed the armed forces to halt missile strikes on neighboring countries unless attacks originate from their territory,
Iran International reports.
In a video message published on Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said the directive followed a decision by what he described as a temporary leadership council.
“The temporary leadership council approved yesterday that neighboring countries should no longer be targeted and missiles should not be fired unless an attack on Iran originates from those countries,” Pezeshkian said.
“The armed forces have so far acted with a kind of ‘fire at will’ authority, but they have now been notified that from now on they must not attack neighboring countries or target them with missiles,” he said.
He said that he “apologizes personally” over the matter.
“To groups in neighboring countries who may think of using this opportunity to attack our territory, I send this message: do not become tools of imperialism,” said Iran’s president.
The comments come as on Saturday explosions were reported at Dubai International Airport and loud blasts heard in Abu Dhabi.
