Iran’s President Claims “Total War” With U.S., Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Saturday, December 27, that Iran is engaged in “total war” with the United States, Israel, and Europe, accusing Western powers of attempting to break Iran through military action, sanctions, and diplomatic pressure. He described the current confrontation as more complex than the Iran-Iraq War, claiming Iran now faces a coordinated, multi-front campaign aimed at weakening the regime and destabilizing the country internally.

Pezeshkian pointed to the reimposition of UN sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear program and blamed European governments for abandoning diplomatic engagement. He said talks earlier in 2025 collapsed after military escalation and insisted that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, a claim rejected by the US and its allies. The rhetoric followed months of heightened tensions, including Israeli and American strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.

Referring to the June 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran, Pezeshkian said Iran suffered more than a thousand casualties and accused Washington of reviving a maximum-pressure strategy designed to cripple Iran’s economy and oil exports. His remarks signaled Tehran’s view that the confrontation is a prolonged struggle rather than a temporary crisis, raising concerns of continued escalation across the Middle East.

(NYP/VFI News)