Iran sends conflicting war signals, highlighting divide between leaders seeking de-escalation and hard-liners bent on fighting the U.S. and Israel
The Iran war escalated sharply late Saturday as towering flames erupted over an oil storage facility in Tehran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “many surprises” for the conflict’s next phase.
Israel’s military verified that it struck fuel storage facilities in Tehran. Associated Press footage captured the horizon glowing against Tehran’s night sky.
This seemed to mark the first time a civilian industrial site had been targeted in the war. State media attributed the attack on the facility—which supplies the capital and nearby northern provinces—to “the U.S. and the Zionist regime.”
Earlier that day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued an apology while his nation’s missiles and drones were heading toward Gulf Arab states, and hard-liners insisted Tehran’s war strategy would remain unchanged.
A divide between politicians seeking to ease tensions and those dedicated to fighting the U.S. and Israel could hinder diplomatic efforts. Contradictory statements from Iran came from two of the three members of the leadership council governing the country since was killed in the war’s initial airstrikes.
Pezeshkian also rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand for Tehran’s unconditional surrender, stating: “That’s a dream they should take to their grave.”
Trump warned that Iran would be “hit very hard” and that more “areas and groups of people” would be targeted, without providing details. The conflict has already and left weakened by hundreds of Israeli and U.S. airstrikes.
“We’re not seeking to settle,” Trump told reporters Saturday while aboard Air Force One. “They want to settle. We’re not looking to settle.”
He characterized the ongoing U.S. operations in Iran as an “excursion” and noted that issues like soaring gas prices and American safety would improve once the conflict concludes.
Iran makes varying statements on attacks
Pezeshkian’s message—apparently recorded hastily—highlighted the restricted authority the theocracy’s leaders hold over the , which controls the hundreds of ballistic missiles aimed at Israel and other nations. It reported only to Khamenei and seems to be selecting its own targets.
Pezeshkian’s statement noted that Iran’s leadership council had communicated with the armed forces and stated: “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or launch missiles at them unless we are attacked by those nations. I believe we should resolve this through diplomacy.”
The U.S. strikes have not originated from the Gulf Arab governments being targeted, but rather from U.S. bases and ships in the region.
However, hard-line judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei—another member of the three-person leadership council—implied that the war strategy would remain the same.
“The territory of some regional countries—both openly and secretly—is controlled by the enemy, and those locations are used to launch aggressive acts against our nation. Intense strikes on these targets will persist,” he posted on .
“As long as U.S. bases remain in the region, countries will not have peace,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf—a former Revolutionary Guard general—stated on X. He described defense policies as aligned with the late supreme leader’s directives.
Iran’s U.N. mission later proposed—without providing evidence—that strikes on nonmilitary locations “may have been caused by interception by U.S. electronic defense systems.”
Late Saturday, senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani declared in a state media-broadcast address that “our leaders are united on this matter and have no disagreements among themselves.”
He also noted that the leadership council had asked for “arrangements to be made” to gather the Assembly of Experts to select the next supreme leader, though he didn’t specify a timeline.
Trump says the Kurds won’t be involved
Trump stated he had ruled out , even though Kurdish fighters in the region are eager to help in efforts to overthrow Iran’s government.
“The war is complicated enough without involving the Kurds,” Trump told reporters.
Days prior, Kurdish officials told the AP that Kurdish-Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq were preparing for in Iran and that the U.S. had requested Iraqi Kurds to back them.
US says more intense bombing lies ahead
“Tehran is under heavy bombardment,” and even those far from military and government sites are living in fear, a western Tehran university student said, speaking anonymously due to security worries.
Israel said earlier Saturday that it had hit a Tehran airport it claimed was used to move weapons and money to militant groups.
The U.S. and Israel have targeted Iran’s military capabilities, leadership, and nuclear program. The war’s stated objectives and timelines as the U.S. has occasionally indicated it aims to overthrow Iran’s government .
The fighting has left at least 1,230 dead in Iran, over 290 in , and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those nations. have also been killed.
Incoming Iranian missiles sent people rushing back to bomb shelters across Israel, with no reported injuries or deaths.
Missile lands at U.S. Embassy compound in Iraq
Three Iraqi security officials stated that a missile landed on the helicopter pad at the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. They spoke anonymously as they weren’t authorized to comment publicly. An embassy spokesperson refused to comment. No casualties were reported.
This marked the first reported strike to hit Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone since the Iran war started. Iran and allied Iraqi militias have carried out dozens of attacks on U.S. military bases and other Iraqi facilities since the war began.
Iraqi Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani labeled the embassy attack a “terrorist act” perpetrated by “rogue groups.”
Strikes target Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai
Gulf-based U.S. allies have stated that the Trump administration for the war.
Hours after Pezeshkian’s apology, the United Arab Emirates reported that debris from an aerial interception fell on a vehicle, killing an “Asian driver.” Four people have now died in the UAE since the war started—all foreign nationals, authorities said.
Sirens went off earlier Saturday as Iran targeted the island nation. stated it had destroyed drones heading for its massive Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile aimed at Prince Sultan Air Base—which .
In Dubai, multiple blasts were heard Saturday morning, and the government said it had activated air defenses. Passengers waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport were directed into train tunnels.