Iran president says time to end war while in position of strength

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian remarked Friday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the United States as Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington.

Key points

• "The so-called 'Economic D-Day' is a diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs, " Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi remarked in a post on X.
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday vowed Washington would "collapse" the Iranian regime with its threatened sanctions campaign.
• Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran.
• His remarks came weeks after Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei remarked he had approved the agreement to end the war despite having "different views".
• Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian remarked to journalists on Friday that "sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue".

Discussions between the longtime foes remain on hold, and the war kicked off by the US and Israel in February has been locked in a stalemate.

"It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity, " Pezeshkian remarked in a gathering with doctors.

"The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world."

Pezeshkian additionally defended a memorandum of understanding agreed with the US in June aimed at ending the war, insisting it did not signal a defeat for Tehran.

"They cannot find even a single clause in this agreement that indicates capitulation. All the commitments concern the other side, " he remarked.

Hardline lawmakers in Iran's parliament have criticised the administration over the agreement, accusing it of giving concessions to the US, mostly over the re-opening of Hormuz.

As reports indicate in US media, the American navy has been organising and protecting secret convoys of tankers through the southern sector of the strait, enabling between five and 10 million barrels a day of oil to be exported.

Tehran's claims to be in the stronger position followed a US announcement that it would ramp up sanctions to heap pressure on the Islamic republic.

In practice, the American plan drew condemnation from Iran's foreign ministry. It accused the US of "economic terrorism", adding the "instigators of these sanctions are deserving of trial and punishment".

Meanwhile, the comments underscored how the Trump administration is shifting to economic rather than military pressure on Tehran as the US president's unpopular war nears the six-month mark.

After Washington had called on it and other governments to join its efforts to isolate the Iranian economy, china additionally criticised the administration's economic plan.

"China calls on all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means, " he remarked.

As it did when Trump travelled to Beijing for a summit in May, chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the White House on September 24, with the topic of Iran sure to come up.

Bessent remarked the plan to ramp up economic sanctions against Iran meant Washington was less probable to have to return to heavy military operations against the country.

Notably, the US Treasury chief remarked he would provide further details of the measures during a press conference on Monday. Other senior Iranian authorities have brushed off the US plan.

Meanwhile, the US additionally slapped new sanctions on the Lebanese movement Hezbollah on Thursday, saying it operated in "service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps".

Hezbollah, which is armed and funded by Tehran, remarked Friday that "unjust sanctions and classifications will not deter us from adhering to the path of resistance" against Israel.

Meanwhile, the American decision comes as the US facilitates direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon — technically war for decades — to end hostilities that erupted when Hezbollah entered the Middle East war by launching rockets at Israel in backing of its backer Iran.

In short, iran president says time to end war while in position of strength is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.