Iranian President Pezeshkian suggests potential for ending war with US

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that it would be an opportune moment to seek to end the war with the United States, according to state media reports.

His comments, made at a medical conference, come amid mixed messages both from officials in Tehran and from US President Donald Trump on the conflict. The partial truce agreed in June remains in a seemingly ambiguous state, having expired without progress or renewal on Monday.

Tehran continues to severely limit shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the United States is in turn trying to enforce what it refers to as a blockade of Iran's ports.

Trump this week threatened increased economic pressure on Iran. But how much further the US can turn the screws on one of the world's most heavily sanctioned countries, with which it does almost no business, is unclear.

As Pezeshkian seemingly suggested it might be a good time to negotiate peace, an Iranian military leader threatened "crushing, punishing and devastating responses" if the US did try to isolate Iran further economically.

What did Pezeshkian reportedly say?

According to IRNA's report, Pezeshkian said the war would eventually have to be brought to an end.

"It is better to end it today, as we are in a position of strength and dignity," he said.

"The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasizes that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world," Pezeshkian said.

He also argued that the faltering 15-point Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iran and the US in June in no way signaled a defeat for Iran.

"They cannot find even a single clause in this commitment that indicates capitulation," he said. "All the commitments concern the other side."

While most concern the US, a minority of the 15 commitments do put the onus on Iran, although Tehran might argue they only constitute agreeing to return to the situation that existed before the war. The most notable examples would be allowing commercial transit without charge through the Strait of Hormuz, at least temporarily, and Iran reaffirming that it would not procure or develop nuclear weapons.

Pezeshkian also reportedly told the crowd of doctors that "under no circumstances will we bow to intimidation" and that if necessary, Iran would resist "until our last breath."

What US messaging coincides with these comments?

US President Donald Trump, after a few days dominated more by his comments on the Korean Peninsula and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, briefly returned his attention to Iran late on Wednesday.

He threatened what he referred to as the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against another country," feeling the need to write the phrase entirely in capital letters. He also referred to it as an "economic D-Day."

The message did very little to explain how the US planned to further turn the screws on Iran — which has withstood around half a century of US sanctions and does almost no trade with the US — except to say the US would look to stop Iran's trading partners from providing "any type of lifeline to Iran."

Asked to shed more light on the idea in a CNBC interview on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed it would be the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world," and said it would "collapse this regime."

The economic pressure would make "large-scale" military operations unnecessary, he added.

When asked if China, Iran's most important trading partner would be asked to join in, Bessent declined to comment publicly.

What other comments are coming out of Tehran?

Not unlike the volatile US president, Iran is known for its often inconsistent and hyperbolic messaging, frequently combining apparent overtures for peace and threats on the same day or even in the same message.

It's also fairly common for the Tehran regime's political representatives like Pezeshkian and lead negotiator Mohammad Qalibaf to adopt a slightly more diplomatic posture than the military or theocratic leaders.

The chief of Iran's armed forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, was also asked about the US economic threats on Friday and warned of a broad and decisive military response if necessary.

"With preparedness across land, sea, air, air defense and cyberspace, Iran's armed forces will respond to the enemy's new threats with crushing, punishing and devastating responses," Abdollahi was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker Qalibaf seemed to voice a similar call to intensify negotiations, claiming that Washington appeared to have concluded it could not prevail in a direct military confrontation.

"We must make plans to deal with the unjust sanctions so we can overcome them," Qalibaf said in neighboring Iraq.