Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday his country is in a "total war" with the US, Israel and Europe ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the website of the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday that the war is worse than Iran's deadly war with Iraq in the 1980s.
"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," Pezeshkian told the official site of Ayatollah, six months after Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran.
"This war is worse than the one launched against us by Iraq. On closer inspection, it is far more complex and difficult," he added, referring to the 1980-88 conflict between the neighbouring countries that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides.
Pezeshkian's remarks came two days before a planned meeting between Trump and Netanyahu during Netanyahu's visit to the US Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks.
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.
France, Britain and Germany were behind the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran in September connected to its nuclear programme.
Earlier this year, sworn enemies Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in June, triggered by an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as civilian areas.
The strikes resulted in more than 1,000 casualties, according to Iranian authorities. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.
The United States later joined the operation, bombing three nuclear sites.
Washington's involvement brought a halt to negotiations that began in April with Tehran over its nuclear programme.
Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has revived his so-called "maximum pressure" policy against Iran, initiated during his first term.
That has included additional sanctions designed to economically cripple the country and dry up its oil revenues from sales on the global market.
(With inputs from AFP and AP)