ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump claimed Saturday that Iran had apologized to neighboring countries and vowed to stop firing at them following ongoing military pressure from the US and Israel.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump said Tehran had backed down as a result of sustained attacks carried out by Washington and its regional ally.

“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore. This promise was only made because of the relentless US and Israeli attack,” Trump wrote on Saturday.

He also claimed that Iranian ambitions to dominate the region had been halted, saying: “They were looking to take over and rule the Middle East. It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries.”

Trump added that regional leaders had expressed gratitude to him.

In the same post, Trump criticized Iran, declaring: “Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East,’ they are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse!”

He also warned of additional military action, stating: “Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.”

The remarks came amid escalating tensions and reported strikes involving the US and Israel targeting sites in Iran.