Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is publicly pressing Tehran to end its war with the United States, arguing that Iran should pursue an agreement now while it can still claim it is negotiating from a position of strength.
“We should end the war now, when we are in a position of power and dignity,” Pezeshkian said, claiming that the world recognizes what he characterized as Iran’s success against the United States.
The message was directed as much toward Iran’s own political establishment as toward Washington.
Powerful hard-line factions inside the Islamic Republic have resisted concessions and continue to portray prolonged confrontation as proof of revolutionary strength. Pezeshkian’s argument is that extending the conflict could squander whatever leverage Iran believes it still possesses while deepening the economic damage at home.
Vice President JD Vance recently described the division inside Tehran bluntly, saying some Iranian officials want the war to end while “crazy radicals” want it to continue. Pezeshkian’s latest remarks appear to confirm that a real internal struggle remains over whether Iran should accept a negotiated settlement or continue fighting.
The timing is critical. President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called the toughest sanctions ever imposed on Iran. The measures, expected to be detailed Monday, are designed to isolate Tehran from oil revenue, foreign trade and international financial channels while reducing the need for another major American military escalation.
Iran is already facing a U.S. naval blockade, restricted oil shipments and the loss of important regional commercial connections. The United Arab Emirates, historically one of Iran’s most important trading gateways, has suspended trade following Iranian missile attacks.
Pezeshkian is therefore attempting to present diplomacy not as surrender, but as a way to preserve Iran’s remaining leverage before the country’s economic position deteriorates further.
Hard-liners are offering the opposite message. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Friday that Iran must develop ways to overcome what he called “unjust sanctions,” urging deeper trade with Iraq and greater use of national currencies to reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar.
The competing statements expose Tehran’s central choice: negotiate while claiming victory, or continue a confrontation that Washington is increasingly shifting from the battlefield to Iran’s economic lifelines.
JBizNews Desk | Tehran
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