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US President Donald Trump attended the return Saturday of the bodies of the first six US soldiers killed during the escalating war with Iran.
Trump, wearing a white “USA” baseball cap and accompanied by several Cabinet members, saluted as each flag-draped case was carried from a military transport plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of US troops killed overseas are returned to American soil.
The troops were killed last Sunday when a drone struck a key US command center in Kuwait, a day after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping military campaign against Iran.
Trump, wearing a white “USA” baseball cap and accompanied by several Cabinet members, saluted as each flag-draped case was carried from a military transport plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where the remains of US troops killed overseas are returned to American soil.
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The troops were killed last Sunday when a drone struck a key US command center in Kuwait, a day after the United States and Israel launched a sweeping military campaign against Iran.
Iran’s military called on its neighbour Azerbaijan to “expel the Zionists” from its territory on Saturday in order to preserve its security, a day after Baku accused Tehran of plotting attacks on its territory.
Israel is a close ally of Azerbaijan’s and a key arms supplier, while Tehran has long accused Israel of using Azerbaijani territory for intelligence operations.
“We declare to Iran’s neighbouring country, the Republic of Azerbaijan, as a Muslim country, to expel the Zionists from that country in order to prevent the spread of insecurity in the region and not to endanger the security of its people and Islamic Iran,” a military spokesman said in a statement.
Azerbaijan on Friday said it had foiled a series of planned Iranian terrorist attacks on its territory including on a key oil pipeline, a synagogue and Jewish community leaders.
Iran did not comment on the accusations.
President Trump has taken a jab at Iran for apologising to its neighbouring countries affected by retaliatory airstrikes.
Iran had conducted missile and drone strikes on multiple US military bases in Gulf countries — including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait — as retaliation for the “preemptive” strikes launched by the US and Israel.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkan had said Iran has no intention of invading neighbouring countries, calling for regional cooperation to establish peace and calm.
“I deem it necessary to apologise to neighbouring countries that were attacked,” Pezeshkian said.
“We do not intend to invade neighbouring countries.”
Reacting in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump said Iran’s apology was a result of the “relentless US and Israeli attack’ on the country.
The US president accused Iran of planning to take over the Middle East.
“Iran, which is being beat to HELL, has apologised and surrendered to its Middle East neighbours,” Trump posted.
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“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.
“They have said, ‘Thank you President Trump’. I have said, ‘You’re welcome!’
“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!
Trump added that “Today, Iran will be hit very hard!”
He added that because of Iran’s “bad behaviour”, some areas and groups of people who were not considered for targeting “up until this moment in time” are under serious consideration for “complete destruction and certain death”.
Iran has been trying to manage the fallout from its recent attacks on US military bases in the region by reassuring neighbouring countries that they were not the intended targets, according to a Tehran-based analyst.
Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Centre for Middle East Strategic Studies, said Iranian officials have been attempting in recent days to contain potential damage to relations with regional capitals following the strikes.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Aslani said Iranian leaders have stressed in their contacts with foreign counterparts that the actions were defensive.
“In a phone conversation with the Russian president, Iranian officials described these actions as defensive in nature,” he said.
Aslani added that Iran’s foreign minister and other senior military officials have also sought to underline that the attacks were aimed at US bases and assets rather than regional countries.
