Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: We Are In An 'All-Out War' That Pales In Comparison With The Iran-Iraq War; Trump's Policies Are Crippling Iranian Economy; Qatar, Turkey, Iraq Are Withholding Iranian Funds; Despite My Beliefs, Khamenei Firmly Rejects U.S. Negotiations

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated in a March 2, 2025, address to the Majles during the impeachment of the Minister of Finance that Iran is engaged in an all-out war with its "enemy," emphasizing that the current conflict far surpasses the war with Iraq. He pointed out that since Trump's return to office, Iranian vessels are facing new sanctions at sea, and the "enemy" is tightening its grip on Iran's economy. Pezeshkian expressed frustration over Iraq, Qatar, and Turkey withholding funds that belong to Iran and revealed that he had requested Supreme Leader Khamenei to withdraw money from state reserves to cover government debt. He also mentioned that although he personally believes it would be better to negotiate with the United States, Khamenei has firmly rejected this idea, declaring that such negotiations will not take place, "end of story."

Masoud Pezeshkian: "We are in the midst of an all-out war with the enemy. If you agree that we are at war, which pales in comparison to the war with Iraq... Even so, consider the conditions during the bombings on Iran [during the Iran-Iraq war].

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"Since Trump came back and signed a new executive order, our vessels are facing new sanctions at sea. They are scrambling to unload their crude oil and gas cargo. Just like the esteemed leader said, Qatar is withholding our $6 billion. We have dollars that are not being released to us. Iraq, Qatar, and Turkey are all holding our money and are not paying it.

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"Our [government] has asked multiple times for permission from the Leader to withdraw funds from our reserves in order to pay our debts and pay bonuses.

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"This is war, and the enemy is tougher than we faced in Iraq.

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"From the other side, they are tightening their grip on our economy and our transactions every day. They are doing this cleverly and intentionally every day.

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"I personally believed that it is better to negotiate [with the U.S.]. The Leader declared that we will not negotiate with the U.S. I then said that we would not negotiate with the U.S., end of story."