Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ignited international alarm with his declaration that the Islamic Republic is engaged in what he calls a "total war" with the United States, Israel, and Europe. His remarks, delivered in a high-profile interview published December 28, 2025, on the official website of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, mark a dramatic escalation in Tehran’s rhetoric and come amid a backdrop of recent military clashes and mounting diplomatic tensions.
Pezeshkian didn’t mince words. "In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel and Europe... They don’t want our country to remain stable... They want to bring our country to its knees," he asserted, as reported by The Independent and corroborated by AP and other outlets. The president painted a picture of Iran under siege on multiple fronts—not just militarily, but through sanctions, trade restrictions, and what he described as efforts to sow discontent within Iranian society.
"We are in a full-scale war with the U.S., Israel and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet," Pezeshkian said. He added, "The West’s war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-88 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides." The president’s comparison to the brutal eight-year Iran-Iraq War, which left deep scars on the nation, was intended to underscore both the gravity and the complexity of the current confrontation.
Unlike the conventional warfare of the past, Pezeshkian described today’s conflict as multidimensional. "In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and I also knew where to hit," he explained. "Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are putting us in difficulty and constraint, creating problems – in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise – while raising society’s expectations. On one side, they block our sales, our exchanges, our trade, and on the other side, expectations in society have risen! Consequently, we must all help with all our might to fix the country."
The timing of Pezeshkian’s remarks is no accident. They were made public just days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump—a summit expected to focus heavily on Iran and regional security. According to AP, Iran’s status and its growing missile capabilities are likely to be central topics, with Netanyahu reportedly set to brief Trump on possible new strikes against Iranian targets.
The president’s warnings come on the heels of a violent and costly military escalation. In June 2025, Israel launched a surprise series of strikes targeting Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists, and critical nuclear sites. The 12-day conflict that followed was devastating: Iranian officials reported over 1,000 casualties, including senior military personnel and scientists. In retaliation, Iran fired missile barrages that killed 28 people in Israel, as documented by AP and The Independent.
The United States, for its part, entered the fray with its own show of force. According to reports published on the Supreme Leader’s website and echoed by Piri News, U.S. forces struck three major Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan—using bunker-buster bombs. These strikes occurred more than a week after the initial Israeli attacks and further fueled the sense of siege described by Pezeshkian.
Pezeshkian did not shy away from acknowledging Israel’s missile superiority in the June conflict. However, he was quick to emphasize what he described as Iran’s "enhanced military readiness" for future confrontations, suggesting that any further aggression would be met with decisive responses. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has echoed these warnings, promising "irreparable damage" to any aggressors and rejecting calls for Iranian surrender. "The heavy assault by the US army and its disgraceful extension in this region was overcome by the initiative, courage, and sacrifice of the young people of Islamic Iran," Khamenei declared in a separate statement for the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe.
Amid this climate of hostility, Pezeshkian reiterated Iran’s commitment to strengthening ties with Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. Iran’s support for Hamas is longstanding, but recent speculation in Iranian media suggests that Tehran’s influence within the group may be growing, with figures like Khalil al-Hayya being discussed as potential new leaders. While no official confirmation has emerged, the relationship underscores Iran’s broader strategy of cultivating an "Axis of Resistance"—a network of allied groups across the Middle East designed to counter Western and Israeli influence.
The president’s comments also reflect a broader Iranian narrative that frames diplomatic, economic, and informational pressure as acts of warfare equivalent to military confrontation. He accused the U.S., Israel, and some European countries of actively supporting efforts to cause Iran’s collapse, pointing to sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and covert operations as tools wielded by adversaries to destabilize the government.
For ordinary Iranians, the consequences of this "comprehensive war" are all too real. Economic sanctions have crippled trade, squeezed livelihoods, and stoked inflation, while political isolation has deepened the country’s sense of vulnerability. At the same time, societal expectations have risen, fueled by both internal pressures and the government’s own rhetoric about resistance and resilience.
As 2025 draws to a close, the stakes could hardly be higher. The region remains on edge, with fragile ceasefire efforts in Gaza, ongoing proxy tensions linked to the Ukraine conflict, and the ever-present risk of escalation between Iran and its adversaries. Global efforts to de-escalate the crisis face daunting obstacles, not least the entrenched mistrust on all sides and the specter of further military confrontations.
Despite the dire tone of Pezeshkian’s pronouncements, some analysts note that his framing of the conflict as "total war" may serve both domestic and international purposes: rallying support at home while signaling resolve to adversaries abroad. Whether this rhetoric portends further escalation or marks a high-water mark in the war of words remains to be seen. For now, the world watches closely, hoping that the next chapter in this long-running saga will bring more dialogue and less devastation.
