Pezeshkian says Iran will not surrender to military power

The Iranian president says Tehran believes in diplomacy but is not afraid of a fight, as talks with the US continue over the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, says Iran will not surrender to military power and believes in diplomacy, while adding that Iran is not afraid of fighting.

The statement comes as Iran's security council has tied any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to a four to five day deadline for Washington. Rezaei, the council's secretary, has said Iran will not negotiate until the US meets its conditions, and that the strait stays shut in the meantime. Even so, Foreign Minister Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff have continued discussing terms for reopening it.

At the UN General Assembly this week, Pezeshkian told delegates that nuclear technology is part of Iran's right to development, and that widening the war will not bring security. He said Iran was a victim of terrorism and did not bow its head, a remark that prompted a US official to walk out of the hall. He also said Iran needs nuclear energy, not a nuclear bomb, and linked access to the Strait of Hormuz to Tehran's security demands as Witkoff wrapped up talks with Iranian mediators.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said President Trump's remark about annihilating Iran is war language. Pezeshkian's comments repeat ground Iran has already staked out in recent weeks and add nothing new to shift the risk calculus. With talks ongoing through mediators, rhetoric hardening on both the Israeli and US sides, and Iran's own ultimatum on the strait still standing, the message reads as a negotiating position rather than a step back. The absence of any concession keeps geopolitical risk elevated for energy markets and for assets tied to the region.