Iranian leaders on Wednesday blamed Israel and the United States for its attacks on friendly neighbors in the region, saying the coordinated campaign of the two powers against Iran left it no choice but to defend itself in this manner. The officials failed to explain how attacking their allies in the Middle East helped them to defend themselves.

In a phone call, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, that Iran had only intended to hit U.S. military targets in Qatar. Al Thani was having none of it. He said that Iran had violated Qatari sovereignty by targeting civilian areas such as residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure such as the airport and gas production plants.

Al Thani did not seem to think it was possible for drones and missiles to enter Qatari airspace — which the Qataris then had to intercept — in an effort to restore peace. Instead, he said it signals an intention to escalate tensions, accusing Iran in the phone call of intending “to harm its neighbors and drag them into a war that is not theirs.”

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, took to X in an effort to calm tensions.

“Your Majesties, heads of friendly and neighboring states, we have strived alongside you and through diplomacy to avoid war,” he posted, “but the American-Zionist military aggression has left us no choice but do defend ourselves. We respect your sovereignty, and we believe that the security and the stability of the region must be achieved through the collective efforts of its states.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also attempted to placate his irate neighbors.

“We inform friendly and neighboring states that our missile and drone capabilities are intended solely for legitimate defense against aggressors from Israel and the United States,” he said, adding his hope for returning to “days of cooperation and friendship.”