Iran President Claims Victory Over U.S.; Envoy Remarks on Golan Heights Spark Controversy

Iran's president says the world has accepted that it's won the war with the United States and remarks by the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria appear to contradict official U.S. position over the Golan Heights.

Here's a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Saturday.

Iran's President says the world has accepted that Iran won the war

Iranian state media reported Friday that President Masoud Pezeshkian said the war with the U.S. should end since the world has already accepted that Iran has won.

"The entire world approved our victory and the U.S. is hated," he said according to IRNA news agency.

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The remarks came as the Trump administration is touting a crushing financial campaign against Iran, promising an "economic D-Day" against the country. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing an "unprecedented" level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria appears to contradict official U.S. position on the Golan Heights

In an interview Friday, Tom Barrack said that Israel "still" occupies the territory in violation of U.N. resolutions.

In his comments made to Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, Barrack said that "in the Golan, with Syria, they (Israel) still occupy the Golan, against the U.N. resolutions."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. The U.N. considers the territory occupied Syrian land and the annexation null and void, with U.N. resolutions calling for Israel's withdrawal to the June 4, 1967, line.

In March 2019, Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of U.S. policy. The move did not change the territory's status under international law or win broader international recognition.

Colombia became the second country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan this month, joining the United States.

Barrack's remarks sparked a backlash Saturday from conservative activist and U.S. presidential ally Laura Loomer, who posted on X that he "should resign for his lack of understanding of U.S. foreign policy."