Iran president says Iran won the war as tensions remain high across the Middle East

Iran’s president said the world has accepted that Iran won the war with the United States, as tensions remain high across the Middle East nearly six months after the U.S. and Israel launched the conflict.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that the war should end because, in Iran’s view, the country has prevailed. Iranian officials point to Tehran’s continued control of the Strait of Hormuz and its refusal to accept U.S. demands as evidence of victory.

The comments come as the Trump administration escalates economic pressure on Iran. President Donald Trump has promised an “unprecedented” campaign of economic warfare aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and natural gas shipments.

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. envoy’s comments about the Golan Heights have raised questions about the administration’s position on the disputed territory. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said Israel still occupies the Golan Heights in violation of U.N. resolutions.

Israel captured the territory from Syria during the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. While the United States recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during Trump’s first term, the United Nations continues to consider the territory occupied Syrian land.