In a recent interview featured on the website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Pezeshkian characterized the current geopolitical tensions as more severe than the infamous Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. He emphasized the gravity of the situation, declaring, “We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel, and Europe; they don’t want our country to remain stable.”

Pezeshkian further elaborated that the West’s confrontational stance against Iran is “more complicated and more difficult” than the conflict with Iraq between 1980 and 1988, a war that resulted in over a million casualties for both nations involved.

The timing of these remarks is significant, as they were made just two days before an anticipated meeting between then-President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Netanyahu’s visit to the United States. Discussions on Iran are expected to be central to their agenda.

The backdrop of these tensions is marked by Israeli and US military actions in June, involving a 12-day air campaign that reportedly resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,100 Iranians, including several high-ranking military officials and nuclear scientists. This escalation highlights the precarious nature of the current relations between these nations.

Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks.

Israeli and US strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1100 Iranians, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.