Khamenei, Pezeshkian Say Iran Is at War With West To Reshape Global Order
Iran’s top leadership cast its confrontation with the United States, Israel, and Europe as a battle over global power and survival, not nuclear policy, ahead of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.
In a message issued Saturday to Islamic student associations in Europe, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected Western claims that Iran’s nuclear program is at the heart of the dispute. He said the real conflict centers on resistance to what he described as an unjust international system and efforts to block Iran from reshaping the global order.
According to Khamenei, Western pressure reflects opposition to Iran’s broader vision rather than its nuclear activities. He portrayed recent regional fighting as a failed attempt by Washington and its allies to impose dominance, saying US forces and their partners in the Middle East had been repelled through the actions of Iran’s younger generation.
Khamenei also addressed the killing of Iranian scientists, senior military figures, and civilians, insisting such attacks have not weakened Iran’s resolve. He said the families of those killed remain active supporters of the country’s cause and continue to play a leading role in what he described as a wider movement.
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Hours later, President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a similar assessment, saying Iran is already engaged in a comprehensive war with the US, Israel, and Europe. In an interview published on Khamenei’s official website, Pezeshkian argued that the current confrontation is more complex and dangerous than the 1980–1988 war with Iraq.
“We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel, and Europe; they don’t want our country to remain stable,” he said.
Pezeshkian compared today’s pressure campaign to the Iran-Iraq conflict, which resulted in more than one million casualties on both sides, but said the present struggle involves layered political, military, and economic dimensions that make it harder to confront.
The comments came two days before Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with Trump in Washington, where Iran is expected to be a central topic. The leaders are set to discuss regional security following a 12-day air war in June that included Israeli and US strikes on Iran.
The strikes killed nearly 1,100 people in Iran, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists, according to Iranian figures. Iran responded with missile barrages that killed 28 people in Israel and caused significant property damage.
Iranian officials have framed the latest escalation as part of a broader Western effort to weaken the country, while Israel and the US maintain that their actions are aimed at curbing Iranian military capabilities and preventing further regional instability.
