Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran does not seek war with the United States and remains willing to resolve disputes through diplomacy, while accusing Washington and Israel of military attacks, escalating economic pressure and failing to honor previous commitments.
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| Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during an interview on December 27, 2025. Photo: khamenei.ir / CC BY 4.0 |
Speaking in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier on September 24, Pezeshkian addressed the war, prospects for renewed negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, Iran’s nuclear program, relations with Yemen’s Houthis, unrest inside Iran and the health of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
“We never sought war. We do not seek war. I deeply believe that humans should not cause the death of another human,” Pezeshkian said.
“We are supposed to be the chosen beings of creation. When we can resolve issues through dialogue, we shouldn’t resort to killing one another.”
Pezeshkian blamed Israel for helping trigger the conflict.
“But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us.”
“But we do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not.”
Trust Before a Trump Meeting
Pezeshkian said Iran remained prepared to reach an agreement with Washington as long as any arrangement complied with international law.
“If the current American government, within the international legal framework, wishes to reach an agreement, fine.”
“If not, before the elections or after the elections, what difference does it make for us?”
He said, however, that a meeting with Trump would require Washington to first rebuild Tehran’s trust.
“Until trust is restored, it’s not possible to have a meeting with Trump.”
“As long as they don’t cease doing what they’re imposing on us every day, it’s difficult to trust them.”
Pezeshkian pointed to sanctions, military action and what he described as Washington’s failure to comply with written commitments.
“Every day they increase the sanctions against us. Every day they threaten us. Every day they strike us. And they don’t honor what they’ve put in writing.”
“They don’t honor what they’ve signed. How can we believe that if we talk, the problem would get resolved?”
Pezeshkian said Iran had already entered into written agreements and commitments and argued that negotiations could resume if the other side honored them.
“We’re not seeking war. War was imposed on us. They martyred some of the best people in our country.”
“We’ve put things in writing. We’ve signed agreements. We’ve made commitments.”
“Let them abide by what was written, and then we can sit down closely and resume negotiations.”
He also questioned whether Washington genuinely wanted to resolve its disputes with Tehran.
“Do you think the United States of America is genuinely interested in solving problems with us?”
“Why then does it bomb us in the middle of negotiations?”
“Why does it come and kill our scientists, officials and people?”
Pezeshkian said U.S. actions had generated deep anger among Iranians but argued that Tehran was still pursuing dialogue within international law.
“What the U.S. have done to us, to our people, has made people extremely upset.”
“Imagine if someone came into your country and assassinated your president, some of your top officials and your scientists.”
“If you were in our position, what would you do? And yet, here we are. We’re still talking. We’re still engaging in dialogue, and we’re still making our demands within the framework of international law.”
“We’re not asking for anything more than that.”
Dispute Over Previous Prisoner and Funds Arrangement
Pezeshkian also referred to a previous prisoner arrangement between Tehran and Washington, accusing the United States of failing to fulfill its side of the understanding.
“Previously we released American prisoners. The understanding was that they would release our money. We did our part. Several of the people that they had asked for were released.”
“The money came from South Korea. Qatar was supposed to transfer it to us. When we did our part, the United States did not follow through. We tested it, but it didn’t work.”
“The United States gets what it wants, but it doesn’t honor its commitment. In other words, we gave our money.”
“Even now, we remain committed. We don’t want to fight. But certainly, if they strike us, we will defend ourselves.”
Pezeshkian also criticized Trump’s previous statements about helping Iranians.
“Trump kept saying, ‘I want to bring a gift to the people of Iran,’ but the gift that they brought us was guided missiles, heavy weapons, and destruction.”
“What they truly wish to do is to instigate incidents in the country that pave the way for the downfall of the system, of the society, of the government.”
He said Iran would continue resisting despite economic pressure.
“We will keep resisting until the very end.”
“Yes, we do have economic issues, certainly, but in order to remain, we will go through any hardship and endure.”
Nuclear Program and 60% Enriched Uranium
Pezeshkian rejected U.S. accusations that Iran supports terrorism and said Tehran wanted peaceful relations in the region.
“The American president announced that we are terrorists.”
“But in reality, everyone can easily distinguish that we’ve been the victim and the targets of terrorism. And then they say, ‘No, we didn’t.’”
“They deny the obvious truth, but yet they accuse us of such actions.”
“We wish to live in the region with peace.”
On Iran’s nuclear program, Pezeshkian said Tehran was not seeking nuclear weapons.
“When did we ever say that we are seeking nuclear weapons?”
“Developing nuclear weapons is haram from a standpoint of belief, not from a legal perspective.”
“Even if some individuals in Iran may have the incentive to develop nuclear weapons, religiously speaking, they are not allowed to pursue that path.”
Asked by Baier whether Iran would give up its stock of uranium enriched to 60%, Pezeshkian replied:
“Yes, within the framework of international law, based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Whatever we are supposed to adhere to, we will.”
In another part of the interview, Pezeshkian said Iran would be willing to dilute enriched uranium and allow verification of its nuclear activities.
Pezeshkian Says Houthis Do Not Take Orders From Tehran
Pezeshkian also addressed Iran’s relationship with Yemen’s Houthis, or Ansarallah.
“The Houthis are responsible for their own actions. They don’t take direction from us.”
“As those who are resisting in the region, based on the situations that have been imposed on them, we have contacts with them.”
“There is no systematic relationship.”
Turning to Iran’s economic relationship with China, Pezeshkian said Iranian funds remained blocked there.
“One of the problems that we face is that our money in China is blocked.”
“We can’t even get our own money out of a country to which we have supplied goods, let alone use those funds to pay someone else in another corner of the world.”
January Protests and Security Forces
Pezeshkian also addressed protests and unrest inside Iran.
“Whomever wishes to protest is fully entitled to do so.”
“We sat and had a dialogue with many of these protesters. Now, weaponizing protests, that’s a whole different affair.”
Asked specifically about events in January, Pezeshkian said Iran would never deliberately attack its own population.
“We would never attack our own population.”
Baier challenged him, saying: “But you did.”
Pezeshkian responded: “No, no. Who conducted terrorist actions against us? Who hit our schools?”
Baier replied: “I understand, but in January 8th and 9th, you definitely had security forces that killed Iranian citizens.”
Pezeshkian later said the events should perhaps have been handled differently.
“The issue is how we should have dealt with this.”
“If we had handled it correctly, perhaps we would not have allowed those who have taken up arms to come to the streets. Because in the midst of all of this, some innocent people were killed.”
“There were people who were genuinely protesting. But those who were carrying weapons in the streets and mixed in with them started the fighting, began destroying things, and killed members of the military.”
“These were no longer ordinary people. And it was in the course of all of this, ultimately, a problem occurred that should not have occurred.”
Pezeshkian also accused the United States and Israel of involvement in the January unrest.
“Mr. Trump himself announced that the U.S. had equipped and armed these people in order to bring down the Iranian government.”
“Netanyahu’s people announced that from the Kurdistan and Balochistan provinces, forces would be penetrating the major metropolitan centers in order to bring down the government.”
“They thought that it would be a 3-day affair, that the government would fall. It remained steadfast, became more cohesive, became more united.”
“Even those who stood against the Iranian government and opposed us for a number of reasons are now supporting Iran.”
Pezeshkian Accuses U.S. of War Crimes
Pezeshkian also accused the United States of committing war crimes and questioned Washington’s human rights claims.
“They claim that they are proponents of human rights. If they are at war with us or non-civilians, what business do these people have with civilians?”
“What the U.S. is committing is a war crime.”
“Right now, our people are living with dignity. They are enduring hardship. For seven months, people have been taking to the streets and expressing their disgust at what America is doing.”
“What America and Israel are doing in the world is genocide.”
Pezeshkian Says Mojtaba Khamenei Is ‘Completely Healthy’
Pezeshkian was also questioned about the health of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has made few public appearances since succeeding his father.
“There are no specific ongoing health issues or challenges for Mojtaba Khamenei.”
“On the last occasion when we met for seven-plus hours, of course, we were not used to being in seated positions for that many hours.”
“We changed angles and positions. We crossed our legs and so on. But of course, he was healthy enough to be able to withstand those hours in that situation.”
“From a medical standpoint, he’s completely healthy. Hear this from me as a physician and accept it: he has no issues.”
Pezeshkian said he had met Khamenei in person about a month earlier and spent roughly seven hours with him.
Pezeshkian’s interview came a day after his address to the 81st U.N. General Assembly in New York and amid renewed diplomatic contacts over the nearly seven-month U.S.-Iran conflict. Tehran and Washington had signed a memorandum in June intended to provide a framework for a wider agreement, but the process later broke down amid disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz and other issues.