Iran is in a “full-scale war” with the U.S., Europe and Israel, the country’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Saturday.
Tehran’s military forces are now “far stronger” than during the brief, deadly war Iran fought with Israel earlier this year, during which the U.S. also struck the country, Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the official website for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Newsweek has contacted the Whie House via email for comment.
Why It Matters
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday. Iran is likely to feature high on the two leaders’ agenda for their meeting at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
Netanyahu is expected to land in Florida at roughly 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, according to Israeli media.
What To Know
“This war is worse than Iraq’s war against us; if one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war,” Pezeshkian said. Iran fought a prolonged war with its neighbor throughout the 1980s.
“In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles,” the Iranian president said. But the U.S., Israel and European countries politically, economically, culturally “besieging” Iran, as well as impacting the nation’s security, he added.
“On one side, they block our sales, our exchanges, our trade, and on the other side, expectations in society have risen,” Pezeshkian said.
The U.S. and many European countries have imposed extensive sanctions on Iran for years, including on its oil industry and financial sector, often linked with Iran’s nuclear program.
Both Israel and the U.S. struck sites connected with Tehran’s nuclear project and broader military during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June this year.
An Iranian official said more than 1,000 people were killed in Iran and several thousands more injured. Twenty eight people were killed in attacks on Israel.
The U.S. launched assaults on three of Iran’s nuclear sites in a coordinated attack involving more than 125 U.S. aircraft, Tomahawk cruise missiles and the first known combat use of GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-busting bombs. Tehran then attacked the U.S.’ Al-Udeid military base in Qatar. No injuries were reported.
When asked whether Israel or the U.S. could carry out new attacks on Iran, Pezeshkian responded: “If they choose to strike, they will naturally face a more decisive response.”
“Despite all the problems we face, we are now—in terms of both equipment and personnel—far stronger than we were during their previous attacks,” the Iranian president said.
What People Are Saying
“We must all help with all our might to fix the country,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the official website for Khamenei on Saturday.
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