Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told journalists Thursday there is a “major atmosphere of mistrust” between the U.S. and Iran, but that “we are ready for a trust-building relationship.”
After Iran’s president addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York, he provided remarks to a small group of journalists, including ABC News’ Martha Raddatz.
“We struggle to understand why America attacked Iran,” he said. “We don’t want a nuclear weapon,” adding, “President Trump says the U.S. obliterated the program, so why do they need to inspect?” But he said, “We are willing to have inspectors.”
Separately, Iran’s foreign minister told journalists that Iran has presented a plan through mediators that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if the U.S. agrees to certain conditions.
The minister did not spell out the steps the U.S. would have to take but said they were similar to a memorandum of understanding the U.S. signed in Islamabad but has since backed away from.
With gas prices in the U.S. soaring to nearly $4.50 per gallon and diesel prices at an all-time high tonight, the Iranian president told journalists, “It is impossible for the U.S. to make Iran surrender.”
He acknowledged the U.S. “has the power to destroy anything and everything,” but insisted, “We will never surrender.”
The Iranian president also claimed most of the U.S. bases in the region are no longer usable.
Regarding Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was severely wounded and reportedly disfigured during the first day of the war, the Iranian president said he met with the supreme leader twice and “saw no major challenges with this health.”
The supreme leader has not been seen in public since that initial strike.
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