“We never started a war, but if they wish to keep fighting with us, we will respond strongly and resolutely,” Pezeshkian said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Thursday.
The conversation was conducted on the sidelines of his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
He said Iran has been forced to defend itself whenever it has come under attack.
“We did not choose war. The war was imposed on us. We do not seek war. Rather, whenever they attack us, we're forced to defend ourselves.”
Pezeshkian also rejected pressure aimed at forcing Iran to surrender outside the framework of international law.
“And today the pressures that they keep imposing on us are to force us to surrender outside the legal framework of international law, which is impossible.”
The remarks come against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran that began with air raids on February 28, which assassinated a number of high-ranking Iranian officials and military commanders, along with more than 160 schoolchildren and staff in Minab.
The war came to a temporary halt after 40 days, following Iran’s mighty response to the aggressors. Tehran and Washington then signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on June 17 to end the war. However, the US breached its commitments and ignited more rounds of fighting as the MoU collapsed.
He said the United States had labeled Iran as terrorists while Iran had been the target of terrorism.
“The American president announced that we're terrorists, but in reality everyone can easily distinguish that we've been the victim and the targets of terrorism, and then they say no, we didn't.”
“They deny the obvious truth. But yet they accuse us of such”
Negotiations remain tied to international law
Asked about indirect negotiations between Iranian diplomats and US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in New York, Pezeshkian said Iran's position remained anchored in international law.
“That which is discussed and negotiated is within the framework of international law, and what would be rightfully ours under international law.”
He said Tehran had never sought anything beyond its lawful rights. “We never sought anything more, and the result of that, based on that foundation, we're seeking an agreement if the counterpart agrees to it.”
Pezeshkian noted that Tehran is “willing” to move forward with the Islamabad MoU.
Pezeshkian said the central obstacle in negotiations with the US was the “deep mistrust” that has developed between the sides.
He linked that mistrust to the fate of the 2015 nuclear agreement, saying Iran had previously reached an agreement with the United States before Trump withdrew from it unilaterally in May 2018. “Your president tore that up.”
Pezeshkian questioned how the two sides could resolve outstanding disputes if they could not establish trust through dialogue.
“If we're unable to trust one another within the framework of a dialogue, how can we hope that these issues will ever be resolvable?”
Hormuz and freedom of navigation
President Pezeshkian noted that the Strait of Hormuz was fully open before the start of the terrorist US-Israeli aggression on Iran.
He said that the restrictions imposed by Iran over the strategic energy chokepoint were a response to the aggression and also the illegal blockade imposed by the US against Iranian vessels.
“The problem is that within the strait, those who have been responsible for a lifetime for a strait, they are forbidden to move their vessels through the waterway; then of course, we will not recognize that right for other vessels.”
The Strait has been a central issue in the implementation of the Islamabad MoU. The understanding included provisions for restoring commercial traffic through Hormuz, while Tehran had assumed responsibilities related to normal maritime operations and safe passage. However, the US breached the understanding by opening an unsafe route along the coast of Oman.
Pezeshkian rejects fabricated death toll of January riots
Pezeshkian was also questioned over the armed foreign-backed riots that erupted in Iran in January.
He strongly rejected claims of much higher death tolls and said Iran had published identifying information concerning those killed.
“We made public the national identification numbers and the birth certificates of 3,015 people,” he said, rejecting Trump’s claim that 70,000 people were killed during the unrest.
“If there is any additional information, such as 40,000 or 70,000 [victims], someone should furnish proof so it's not true. Of these 3,000 people who lost their precious lives, about 500 of them consisted of the security and police forces.”
“Your own president announced that they armed and equipped instigators, and this was supposed to lead to a coup. Not in support of street protests of peaceful protests.”
He distinguished between peaceful demonstrations and armed violence.
He attributed the scale of the deaths among security forces to the introduction of firearms into the unrest.
“Why? Because the firepower from the rioters was the new element introduced.”
“Regular citizens and individuals lost their lives,” he added.
Pezeshkian said footage had demonstrated what happened during the riots.
The unrest began with peaceful economic protests before becoming violent, with Iranian authorities noting that foreign-backed groups exploited the demonstrations.
Pezeshkian further attributed the riots to an attempt by the United States and Israel to bring down the Iranian government.
“Trump himself announced that we had armed these people in order to bring down the Iranian government.”
He said Israeli spy agents had also announced plans involving the penetration of Iranian cities.
“Netanyahu’s people announced it from Kordestan and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, the force would be penetrating the major metropolitan centers in order to bring down the government.”
According to Pezeshkian, those behind the effort expected Iran’s government to collapse rapidly. “They thought that it would be a three-day affair and that the government would fall.”
He said that did not happen.
Iran, he highlighted, “remains steadfast and has become more cohesive.”