--- title: "Iran's president says the war with the US should end now, while Tehran is strong" description: "Masoud Pezeshkian told a meeting of doctors that Iran should bring the conflict to a close from what he called a position of power. President Trump said Iran is not ready to make the right deal. The war is now about six months old and the Strait of Hormuz remains partly shut." category: "World" category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/world author: "Daniel Morales" published: 2026-08-22T10:37:32.000Z updated: 2026-08-22T10:37:32.000Z canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/irans-president-says-the-war-with-the-us-should-end-now-while-tehran-is-strong tags: ["iran", "united-states", "diplomacy", "strait-of-hormuz", "middle-east"] --- # Iran's president says the war with the US should end now, while Tehran is strong Masoud Pezeshkian told a meeting of doctors that Iran should bring the conflict to a close from what he called a position of power. President Trump said Iran is not ready to make the right deal. The war is now about six months old and the Strait of Hormuz remains partly shut. Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Friday that the war with the United States should be brought to an end now, while Iran is in a strong position. "It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity," he told a meeting with doctors, [in remarks reported by Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/22/iranian-president-says-time-to-end-war-with-us-from-position-of). He went further on the question of who is winning. "The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world," he said. That is his characterization, not an established finding, and the United States has not accepted it. ## A domestic argument as much as a foreign one Much of what Pezeshkian said was addressed inward. He was defending a memorandum of understanding agreed with Washington in June against hardline critics in parliament who have accused his government of conceding too much. "They cannot find even a single clause in this agreement that indicates capitulation," he said. The memorandum has since expired. Al Jazeera's account does not give the date on which it lapsed, and no successor framework has been announced. That is the practical significance of Pezeshkian's remarks: he is arguing for negotiations at a moment when the last agreed text has run out and the domestic case against negotiating has not gone away. ## Washington's response President Donald Trump was dismissive of the opening. "It just means that we're seeing what happens," he said, adding: "We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it, the land areas. So, they would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion." The administration's emphasis at present appears to be on economic pressure rather than talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said sanctions would collapse the Iranian government. ## Where the war stands The conflict is roughly six months old. Iran has partially closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world's seaborne oil normally passes, and the United States is running a naval counterblockade, with reports of convoys moving five to ten million barrels a day. Iran's military has not adopted its president's conciliatory register. Major-General Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, said: "With preparedness across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace, Iran's armed forces will respond to the enemy's new threats with crushing, punishing and devastating responses." That gap between a president talking about ending the war and a general talking about crushing responses is not necessarily a contradiction. Both statements are consistent with a government that wants to negotiate and does not want to appear to be doing so under duress, which is precisely the argument Pezeshkian is making when he says the moment to stop is while Iran is strong. China has criticized the American approach. Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said "sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue." The report we have relied on does not give casualty figures, details of recent strikes, or any indication that talks have been scheduled. On the evidence available, this is a stated willingness to negotiate rather than a negotiation. ## Sources - [Iranian president says time to end war with US from 'position of strength'](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/22/iranian-president-says-time-to-end-war-with-us-from-position-of)