‘Never sought war’: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran not seeking conflict with US

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that Tehran is not seeking a conflict with the United States, warning that a wider clash would harm all sides. He made the remarks during a phone call on Saturday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a statement from the Iranian presidency.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war and it is firmly convinced that a war would be in the interest of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region,” Pezeshkian said.




The call came as tensions remain high following the deployment of a US naval battle group, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, near Iran. US President Donald Trump has warned of possible action, while Iran has said it would respond if attacked.

Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, also said Saturday there had been movement towards talks with Washington. “Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” he said, after holding talks in Moscow.

Trump also confirmed Iran was negotiating with the United States. "(Iran is) talking to us, and we'll see if we can do something, otherwise we'll see what happens...We have a big fleet heading out there," he told Fox News.

Trump added that US allies in region were not being told of plans for possible strikes due to security reasons. "Well, we can't tell them the plan. If I told them the plan, it would be almost as bad as telling you the plan; it could be worse, actually," he said.

Iran’s army chief Amir Hatami had earlier warned the US and Israel against military action. Iran’s forces were “at full defensive and military readiness,” he said, adding that any mistake would threaten regional security.

Iran had said it is open to nuclear talks, but only if its missile and defence programmes are not discussed. Trump has said he believes Iran would prefer a deal over military confrontation.

Separately, Iranian authorities denied that recent incidents, including an explosion in the port city of Bandar Abbas, were linked to any attack, saying it was caused by a gas leak.