Madar (International) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday, October 24, 2026, blamed the United States for the unravelling of an interim deal aimed at ending the war with the US and Israel, but said both sides should return to the deal and "conclude it", in remarks broadcast on Iranian state TV, according to Al Jazeera English and Asharq Al-Awsat.
His comments came amid growing fears that military action could resume soon, after US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he "may do another little Epic Fury", using the codename of the US-Israeli war against Iran that began on February 28. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack did not rule out a US strike as early as this weekend, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that even limited strikes would trigger a response "several times greater", according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi said the US military would not be allowed in the Gulf "under any circumstances and at any time".
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said Tehran would not "wait for permission to defend itself", adding that the country "seeks peace but will respond to any aggression with severe consequences". US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, for his part, said Washington could maintain its blockade of Iranian ports and keep increasing economic pressure on Tehran.
The exchanges come days before Israel's legislative election on Tuesday and US midterm elections on November 3.
