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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Tehran will not surrender to pressure aimed at forcing it into submission, vowing to defend what he described as Iran’s rights and preserve its military and defensive capabilities.
“We will fight” if Iran is forced into submission, Pezeshkian said in a televised interview aired on Friday to mark the second anniversary of his inauguration.
He rejected any prospect of Iran giving up its military capabilities or defensive power, saying the country would not compromise on maintaining its ability to defend itself.
“Would it be right for us to accept having all our military capabilities and defensive power taken away from us and to bow before them?” he said, adding that Iran would not accept such terms.
Pezeshkian also praised Iran’s armed forces for their response during the latest American-Israeli aggression against the country.
He said Iran had been forced to defend itself and praised the Aerospace Forces, Army, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other military personnel for what he called a strong response.
“Our fighters … put up a fierce defence and astonished the world,” he said.
The Iranian president accused the United States and Israel of attempting to bring Persian Gulf countries together against Tehran following the latest conflict.
He said Iran was working to prevent such efforts from succeeding and stressed that Tehran remained committed to Muslim unity.
Pezeshkian said Iran did not regard differences between Sunni and Shia sects as a reason for division, describing Muslims as brothers.
The president also rejected claims that Iran sought territorial expansion or intended to attack neighbouring countries.
“We have no intention of attacking other countries, seizing territory, or expanding our borders,” he said, contrasting Iran’s stated policy with what he described as Israeli ambitions for a “Greater Israel”.
Pezeshkian said Iran shared borders with the countries of the region and had to coexist peacefully with its neighbours.
He also criticised regional countries for allowing US forces to use their territory to launch attacks against Iran.
Referring to a strike on a school in Minab in southern Iran that killed 168 people, Pezeshkian questioned where the attack had been launched from, saying it came from “those very Muslim and friendly countries”.
He said Iran did not seek to attack neighbouring states but would respond against locations from which it was targeted.
“We do not want to target those countries; we strike the place from which we are attacked,” Pezeshkian said, referring to Iranian retaliatory strikes against US interests in countries that Tehran says allowed their territory to be used for attacks on Iran.
