Iran seeks deal with US, not war: President Pezeshkian

Iran does not seek war with the US and remains prepared to pursue a negotiated agreement, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday as tensions between the two countries continue.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Pezeshkian was asked if Iran was choosing war or a deal.

“We do not choose war. The war was imposed on us. We do not seek war,” Pezeshkian said.

He said Iran remains willing to move forward with an agreement with Washington, referring to the June memorandum that called for a final peace deal within 60 days but collapsed due to differences over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We did reach an agreement with your president (Donald Trump),” he said. “Based on that, we are willing and still wish to move forward.”

The Iranian president said it is America that must choose whether it wants to end the war or not.

Asked whether Iran would give up it's 60% enriched uranium, Pezeshkian the country would comply with its obligations under international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“Yes,” he said. “Within the framework of international law, based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, whatever we are supposed to adhere to, we will.”

The interview also addressed Iran's regional relationships, including its ties to Hezbollah and the Houthis.

When Baier asked whether Iran would stop arming Hezbollah and the Houthis as part of a deal, and whether it would tell the Yemeni rebel group to stop attacking Saudi Arabia, Pezeshkian said the Houthis act independently.

“The Houthis are responsible for their own actions,” he said. “They don't take directions from us.”

Pezeshkian also rejected the suggestion that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway through which a fifth of world's oil passed before the war.

Baier questioned Pezeshkian about Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since replacing his father, Ali Khamenei, killed in US-Israeli strikes in late February.

Pezeshkian said he met Khamenei in person almost a month earlier, and spent about seven hours with him.

Asked whether the supreme leader was healthy and able to govern, Pezeshkian responded: “Very much so, completely.”