Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the war with the United States should end since the world has accepted that his country has won, calling for a diplomatic solution.
"It would be better to end the war today, when we are powerful and have dignity, and the whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that the United States, contrary to all regulations, attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure and is hated in the world," several news agencies quoted him as saying on Friday.
At an event in Tehran with the Iranian medical community, Pezeshkian defended the importance of restoring peace and fulfilling agreements.
However, he clarified that this did not mean Iran's surrender and they would not yield to intimidation in any way and give them a crushing response.
He underlined that Iranian armed forces were fully prepared to defend the country with all their might and risking their lives.
US President Donald Trump said that his administration would impose an "unprecedented" level of economic pressure on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2pm on Monday after threatening "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran.
Bessent has also urged co-operation with the US by China, which buys more than 80 per cent of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday the imminent US announcement of economic sanctions was an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations".
"Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law," he said in a post on X.
The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, promised on Friday that Iran would respond to enemy threats militarily with "crushing, punishing and devastating responses".
Trump, who has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides "any type of lifeline to Iran," said on Friday the US was observing "what happens" in the conflict.
with Reuters and EFE
