Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is at war with the West and Israel.
"In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet," he said Saturday in an interview on the website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.
Pezeshkian said the West's war against Iran is "more complicated and more difficult" compared to the 1980-88 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides.
"In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and I also knew where to hit. Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are putting us in difficulty and constraint, creating problems – in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise – while raising society's expectations," he said.
"On one side, they block our sales, our exchanges, our trade, and on the other side, expectations in society have risen! Consequently, we must all help with all our might to fix the country."
The remarks came two days before a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks.
Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1,100 Iranians including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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