Iran strategy to attack Gulf region has backfired, says regional expert

Iran made an unusual apology to neighboring states, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.

Hours after the announcement by President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat center at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. It was also reported that US forces at a base in Bahrain was also targeted.

Iran said over 1,300 civilians had been killed in the strikes so far.

The offensive strategy by Iran has been questioned by Yossi Mekelberg, Associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, a think tank in London, who believes it has not helped their cause in the war.

Regarding the Iranian President's apology, Mekelberg told CGTN Europe: "I think actually it's an acknowledgement by Iran that they made a strategic mistake by trying to get involved the rest of the region.

"I think in their mind maybe it was a reaction, maybe it's something miscalculated even before when they planned in case of such a scenario. 

"But the idea that if they attack the region, not only American bases there, but also countries themselves and hurt them, that they would pressure on the United States, maybe Israel, to stop the war and stop the war quickly, I think this actually backfired against Iran. 

"It galvanized the Gulf and basically enhanced the opinion that Iran is a danger. It actually increased their sense of vulnerability and as a result, the support in the war, which from Iran's point of view, was a miscalculation and hence came the apology."