By Maya Gebeily, Humeyra Pamuk and Alexander Cornwell
BEIRUT/WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV, March 7 (Reuters) - Israel and Iran traded attacks as the Middle East war entered a second week on Saturday, while Tehran made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its "actions", apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He dismissed President Donald Trump's demand for the Islamic Republic's unconditional surrender as "a dream", but said its temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Trump nonetheless cast Iran's apology as a surrender, while saying the country would be "hit very hard" on Saturday.
Hours after Pezeshkian's announcement, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a U.S. air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
GULF STATES HIT BY DRONES AND MISSILES
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran's borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting U.S. military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon after the Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah fired across the border.
Gulf states voiced outrage that their civilian infrastructure - hotels, ports and oil facilities - was struck despite their having had no part in the U.S.-Israeli attacks.
The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have all reported drone or missile attacks over the past week. On Saturday, the UAE defence ministry said that it destroyed 15 ballistic missiles and intercepted 119 drones from Iran.
Emirates airline briefly suspended flights to and from Dubai on Saturday, and Dubai authorities cited a "minor" incident resulting from a fall of debris after an interception, without saying where the incident happened. Emirates later said it would resume flights.
How far Pezeshkian's statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear.
Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia.
NO DEAL WITHOUT SURRENDER, TRUMP SAYS
Iran's apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world's economy.
Pezeshkian's remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with Trump demanding Tehran's "unconditional surrender".
"There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
The U.S.-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six U.S. service members have been killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from "the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran" and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.
'WE WILL CRUSH THEM'
Early on Saturday, the Iranian army said its navy had carried out drone strikes against targets in Israel as well as U.S. gathering points and bases in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, in an apparent response to the U.S. submarine attack on its ship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka that killed dozens of sailors.
The Revolutionary Guards said they struck three positions of separatist groups in Iraq's Kurdistan region at 4:30 a.m. local time. A spokesman for the armed forces warned that if separatist groups in the Kurdistan region took any action against Iran’s territorial integrity, "we will crush them."
Israel launched what its military described as a new wave of strikes on Tehran and Isfahan, while overnight, the Israeli military said it had carried out strikes on neighbouring Lebanon that it said were aimed at Hezbollah military sites.
The Israeli military said Iran fired seven missile barrages at Israel on Saturday, setting off air raid sirens in parts of the country and prompting Israeli air defences to intercept incoming fire.
IRAN REJECTS TRUMP CALL FOR SAY IN CHOOSING NEW LEADER
The war has roiled global markets and oil prices have hit multi-year highs with the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut. About one-fifth of global oil moves daily through the strait.
Washington will provide reinsurance for losses up to $20 billion in the Gulf region to bolster confidence for oil and gas shippers, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp said.
Trump has said the U.S. Navy could escort ships in the Gulf. But Iran's Revolutionary Guards challenged him to do so, with spokesperson Alimohammad Naini saying Iran "welcomes" and is "awaiting" any U.S. presence in the strait, state media said.
Trump also reiterated his demand to have a say in selecting Iran's new supreme leader, a notion rejected by Iravani.
The ambassador said new leadership would be selected "in accordance with our constitutional procedures and solely by the will of the Iranian people - without any foreign interference."
Three influential and hardline Iranian clerics urged the swift selection of a new supreme leader to help guide the nation amid the war, Iranian media reported. Iran has described the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as an assassination.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, Pesha Magid in Jerusalem, and Aaron McNicholas and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Himani Sarkar and William Maclean; Editing by William Mallard and Alex Richardson)
