Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a stark warning Friday, declaring that US President Donald Trump’s policies could “set fire to the entire region.”
Speaking to NBC News during his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Pezeshkian responded to Trump’s claim that US strikes in June “totally obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear facility.
“We’re not afraid of war. We do not seek war,” Pezeshkian said. “President Trump has said that his administration has come to create peace, but the path that they have embarked upon will set fire to the entire region.”
The interview comes amid mounting tensions for the Islamic Republic, which is reeling from a 12-day war with Israel, American airstrikes, and looming sanctions over its nuclear program. Pezeshkian, a former physician, also confirmed he was injured during the war.
“They hit us because they were seeking to martyr us like everyone else. We are not afraid of death and martyrdom,” he told NBC News. Regarding his injury, Pezeshkian downplayed its severity: “It wasn’t anything special… a hematoma formed in the region of the knee.”
Asked about satellite imagery suggesting Iran is expanding underground nuclear infrastructure, Pezeshkian dismissed the reports and invited international inspectors to verify the situation firsthand.
“If they are telling the truth… we have come to an agreement, most recently, with the IAEA, they can come and inspect on the ground,” he said. “To put something out based on purported satellite photography… it’s not pertinent.”
The interview with Pezeshkian was published as sanctions on Iran are set to be re-imposed, after France, Britain, and Germany – known as the E3 – triggered the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The UN Security Council on Friday rejected a resolution presented by Russia and China that would have given Iran a six-month extension before sanctions are reimposed. The sanctions are expected to be activated this weekend.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
