Iran's president claims in Fox News interview that 'the end of the war should be decided by the United States'

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Hwa-seop = Iranian President Massoud Fezeshikian, who is visiting New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said in an interview with Fox News on the 24th (local time), "It is the United States that must decide whether it wants to end (the war) or not."

Fox News, which has a friendly tendency toward U.S. President Donald Trump, aired an interview with President Fezeshkian, including these remarks, on the 'Special Report with Brett Baier' program that evening.

In this interview conducted by Brett Bayer, President Fezeshkian pointed out that the war was not started by Iran and said, "We did not choose the war," adding, "We never started the war, but if they want to continue fighting with us, we will respond strongly and resolutely."

He said Iran does not want to continue the war and that "it is the United States that has to choose whether it wants to end it or not."

When asked whether he wanted Iran to possess nuclear weapons, President Fezeshkian said, "Absolutely not," adding that possession of weapons of mass destruction is religiously prohibited, and that Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who was killed in an airstrike in February of this year, had pointed this out several times.

At the same time, he reiterated his existing position that Iran is willing to dilute its highly enriched uranium (HEU) inventory, which has been enriched to 60%, and said, "It's not really a problem."

Fezeshkian reported that Iran's current supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is healthy and conducting political affairs.

He said he met with Mojtaba Khamenei in person and talked face to face. “I don’t remember the exact date, but we met for about 7 hours about a month, a month and a half ago.”

He explained, “The implementation of policies is the job of the executive branch and government, but consultation and instructions come from there (the Supreme Leader’s side).”

Fezesikian attributed the failure of the ceasefire memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran to "lack of coordination" and "misunderstanding" and argued that "both sides should keep communication channels open and prevent this from happening."

According to CNN, President Fezesikian held a press briefing at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in New York in the evening and expressed his position on war, nuclear plans, and domestic protests.

The position he explained was the same as what Iran had officially stated on several occasions.

He also mentioned the impact that US sanctions are having on the lives of the Iranian people.

Regarding Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's condition, Fezeshkian said, "He is quite healthy," and explained that when he met with him for about seven hours about a month ago, "I did not see any major problems with his health or appearance."

There have been speculations that Mojtaba may have been seriously injured in an airstrike at the outbreak of the war, making daily activities impossible.

Such speculation is still gaining ground as he has not been seen in public, including the funeral of his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.