Tehran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Friday that Iran has no interest in war, directly accusing Israel and the United States of orchestrating efforts to destabilize and dismantle the Islamic Republic.
Speaking during a nationally televised address, Pezeshkian insisted that Tehran’s strategy is defensive in nature, aimed at preserving sovereignty and regional stability. He emphasized that Iran’s enemies, chiefly Israel, backed by Washington, are attempting to sow division at home and ignite conflict abroad.
“Iran does not seek war. It is they who seek to divide our nation, weaken our people, and destroy Iran from within,” Pezeshkian said. His remarks underscored a recurring theme in Iran’s foreign policy: that the West has pursued regime change for decades through sanctions, military threats, and covert operations.
Pezeshkian warned that US-led pressure campaigns, often cloaked in the language of democracy and human rights, have in fact crippled the livelihoods of ordinary Iranians. He denounced Israel as a destabilizing force in the Middle East, accusing its leaders of perpetuating endless war while hiding behind American protection.
Regional analysts said the speech was both a defiant message to foreign adversaries and a reassurance to Iranians weary of Western-imposed sanctions. “What Pezeshkian is doing here is reframing Iran’s stance: we are not aggressors, we are survivors under siege,” noted a Tehran-based political scholar.
The president’s statements come at a moment of heightened tension, with Israel intensifying the genocide in Gaza and the US openly backing its campaign despite global condemnation, vetoing multiple ceasefire resolutions at the United Nations, and continuously supplying weapons to Israel.
Iranian officials argue that Washington’s actions reveal a destructive agenda that has left the US no longer able to destabilize the Middle East, even as it tries to shift international attention away from Israel’s ongoing assault on Palestinians and toward portraying Iran as a threat.
In closing, Pezeshkian called for national unity against what he described as “manufactured chaos.” He urged the international community to recognize the hypocrisy of Western powers that fuel war in the region while branding Iran as the aggressor.
According to Reuters, Pezeshkian stressed that Iran “will stand firm against attempts to divide and destroy the country,” directly accusing Israel and the US of engineering these efforts.
