Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the decision to end ongoing war between the United States and Iran rests entirely with Washington.
On Thursday, during an interview on Fox News, Pezeshkian remarked that Tehran has no desire to prolong the fighting, characterising the choice to stop as America’s alone.
His comments followed an address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, during which the Iranian leader affirmed that Tehran would never surrender to American pressure, underscoring that the two sides remain far apart on how to conclude the war, reports Reuters.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that he could “annihilate” Iran should no settlement be reached, though he also suggested an agreement might materialize soon.
Trump has presented shifting objectives and timelines for the conflict, which commenced on 28 February when the US and Israel launched attacks against Iran.
In retaliation, Tehran initiated strikes against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
The military escalation has inflicted severe casualties and widespread devastation, with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli military operations in Lebanon causing thousands of deaths and displacing millions of people.
Degrading Iran’s nuclear capabilities has been cited by Trump as a principal objective of the war.
Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons and denies seeking to acquire them, stands in contrast to the nuclear-armed United States.
As a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Tehran maintains that it holds the legitimate right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful applications.
