Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian said on Monday that Iran does not want a broader war in the Middle East and that there would be no winners in such a conflict.
“We don’t want war, we want to live in peace,” Pezeshkian told reporters during a visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“We don’t want to be a source of instability in the region.”
Pezeshkian called for dialogue to resolve the instability in the Middle East and accused Israel of stoking tensions and fanning the flames of conflict by carrying out assassinations in Tehran and elsewhere.
“We know better than anyone that if a major war breaks out in the Middle East it would not be in anyone’s interest in the world. It is Israel that is trying to create this major conflict,” he said.
Pezeshkian’s comments came as U.S. officials fear the possibility of all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Israeli airstrikes killed more than 180 people and wounded about 730 on Monday, according to the Lebanese health ministry, in a dramatic escalation of Israeli airstrikes.
The Iranian president also accused the United States and other Western countries of “double standards” for criticizing Iran on human rights while ignoring Israeli “atrocities” in Gaza.
Asked about the possibility of negotiating a new agreement with the United States on its nuclear program, Pezeshkian said Iran was not interested in a new nuclear deal, but was interested in returning to the 2015 nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in 2018.
“Let’s go back to step one,” he said.
Tehran could consider new talks if all parties adhere to the agreement, the president said.
Pezeshkian, who was elected earlier this year and describes himself as a relative moderate, also said Iran cannot dictate to the Houthis, who are attacking ships in the Red Sea because he said the rebels are responding to the unjust plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
“How can we ask them to abstain?” he said. “They are trying to stop a genocide.”
Asked about U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was trying to foment anti-Israel protests at U.S. universities, Pezeshkian denied the accusations and called them “childish.”
He added that people around the world are protesting because they are outraged by the situation in Gaza, and there is no need to take to the streets and accept bribes.
The United States and its allies claim Iran has supplied Russia with armed drones and ballistic missiles for its war against Ukraine, but Pezechkian denied that Iran was supplying missiles to Russia.
He said Iran opposed “Russian aggression” against Ukraine and called for dialogue to resolve the conflict.
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said, “The Iranian government is committed to starting a new round of nuclear negotiations.”
“We are ready, and if the other parties are ready, we can begin further discussions during this visit,” Trump said in a Telegram video, adding that he planned to stay in New York for an extended period of time.
Then-President Donald Trump, concerned about Iran’s ballistic missile program and its deepening influence in the region, withdrew the United States from the landmark Obama-era agreement in 2018, a move that upset some U.S. allies and sparked anger in Iran.
A State Department spokesman said in August that Washington would “judge Iran’s leaders by their actions, not their words,” according to the Associated Press.
“If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness and a new approach, it should stop escalating nuclear war and begin meaningful cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” they said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA has warned that Iran continues to enrich uranium beyond what is needed for commercial nuclear purposes, while Iran has blocked UN inspectors from visiting some facilities in its nuclear program.
The full extent of Iran’s nuclear capabilities remains unknown, but the country maintains that its nuclear program has civilian, not military, objectives.
Iran’s change of stance comes as months of deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza mark one year since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.
This also comes as the US prepares for the presidential election just a few weeks away.
In his comments, Araghchi said the “international situation” “may make it difficult to start negotiations.”