Ammon News - Masoud Pezeshkian said the country’s three-man leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces over the attacks.

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” the president said. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”

He also suggested miscommunication in the ranks caused the attacks. However, his statement aired after repeated attacks Saturday morning on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Pezeshkian, in his comments, specifically blamed the killing of Khamenei and other top leaders for what sounded like a loss of command and control in the armed forces for days.

It remained unclear just what command Pezeshkian and the leadership council could exert over the armed forces.

Iranian state television, after airing his speech, immediately went back to praising the country’s ongoing attacks across the region.

AP