Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would not surrender to mounting US pressure, challenging Washington to confront Iran’s armed forces directly instead of targeting civilian infrastructure and essential supplies.
“If the Americans are fighters, let them face our military forces,” Pezeshkian wrote on X, questioning why civilians were being deprived of water, food and medicine.
“We will not allow intimidation to subjugate our people. Iran will not surrender,” he added.
His remarks come as Iran faces intensifying economic pressure, reinforced by a maritime blockade that has disrupted trade and strained access to basic goods.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in India on Friday, Pezeshkian said pressure on Tehran had reached a “dangerous stage” following the US-Israeli offensive launched on February 28.
Iran had endured severe sanctions for years, he said, but the military campaign and tighter economic restrictions imposed in recent months had pushed the situation to a critical point.
Pezeshkian’s comments followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said the war with Iran would end “very soon” and predicted that oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict was over.
Speaking in Ireland on Saturday, Trump also claimed the United States controlled the Strait of Hormuz and reiterated that Washington would not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Trump alleged that Tehran would use such a weapon against Israel, other countries in the region and even American cities if it obtained one.
Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons and maintains that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes.
