Overview
- President Massud Peseschkian said Western powers seek to “bring Iran to its knees” and described the confrontation as worse than the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War.
- His comments were published on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website, and no immediate responses from the White House or Israel’s embassy were reported.
- The remarks come before a planned Washington visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Iran expected to feature according to media reports.
- Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement collapsed last summer, and wide-ranging UN sanctions pushed by Germany, France and the UK took effect in September.
- The IAEA estimates Iran holds far more enriched uranium than the 2015 deal allows, while Western governments allege Tehran seeks a nuclear bomb and Iran denies the charge.