Iran’s President says it is up to U.S. to choose if it wants to end Iran war

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it was up to the United States to decide when the war between the two countries would end, when asked whether the conflict could conclude by the end of the year.

“But we do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not,” President Pezeshkian said in an interview aired on Thursday (September 24, 2026) on Fox News’ Special Report with Bret Baier.

Mr. Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran would never surrender to U.S. pressure, as the two sides remain far apart on the terms for ending the conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States could “annihilate” Iran if there was no deal to end the war, while also suggesting that an agreement could be reached soon.

Mr. Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war, which began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Tehran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. military bases.

U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Mr. Trump has cited the weakening of Iran’s nuclear capabilities as one of the objectives of the war.

Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons, denies seeking them. The United States, meanwhile, is a nuclear-armed state. Tehran maintains that, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.