Vowing to respond “forcefully" to the joint US-Israel attack, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country will not surrender as the ongoing West Asia conflict entered the ninth day on Sunday.

“We will respond forcefully to the American and Israeli attacks and will not surrender," Pezeshkian said, as reported byAl Arabiya.

He further said his country“will be forced to respond"to any attack or invasion attempt from a neighbouring country, in remarks aired by state TV. If Iran’s enemies “try to use any country to attack or invade our land, we will be forced to respond to that attack. Responding does not mean we have disputes with that country or wish to harm its people – we would be responding out of necessity", he added.

On Saturday (March 7), Pezeshkianapologisedto neighbouring countries hosting American military bases for attacks on their territory.

According to officials, the United States and Israel hitfive oil sitesin and near Tehran in overnight strikes.

“Last night, four oil depots and a petroleum products transport centre in Tehran and the Alborz were attacked by enemy aircraft," CEO of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company, Keramat Veyskarami told state TV.He said the five facilities “were damaged" but the “fire was brought under control".

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), meanwhile, said Iran can fight an “intense war" for months.

The remarks by the IRGC came as Israel struck Beirut in Lebanon. It said Iranian forces could fight an intense war for six months against the US and Israel.

Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said Iran has so far used “first and second generation" missiles, but will use “advanced and less-used long-range missiles" in the coming days.

Israel’s military said it launched a new wave of strikes “across Tehran" on Sunday, after carrying out a precision strike targeting “key commanders" in the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the IRGC, at a hotel in central Beirut – a part of the city popular with tourists. TheAFPreported that Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed at least four people at the hotel.

Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News