Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared that his country is engaged in what he described as a “full-scale war” with the United States, Israel, and Europe, sharply escalating rhetoric just days before President Donald Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

In remarks published Saturday on the official website of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Pezeshkian claimed that the current confrontation with the West is more severe and complex than Iran’s brutal 1980s war with Iraq, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet,” Pezeshkian said.

The Iranian president argued that unlike the Iran-Iraq war, where military targets were clear, today’s conflict is being waged through economic pressure, political isolation, cultural influence, and security constraints. He accused Western nations of blocking Iran’s trade, financial exchanges, and oil sales while simultaneously raising societal expectations inside the country, creating what he described as a coordinated effort to destabilize Iran from multiple directions.

“These pressures affect livelihood, culture, politics, and security all at once,” Pezeshkian said, urging Iranians to unite to overcome what he framed as an external siege designed to weaken the Islamic Republic internally.

The comments come just two days before President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are expected to hold high-level discussions, with Iran reportedly a central topic. The meeting follows a 12-day air conflict earlier this year involving Israel and the United States, during which nearly 1,100 Iranians were killed, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iranian retaliatory missile attacks resulted in 28 deaths in Israel.

According to U.S. media reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to brief President Trump on potential future strikes against Iran, as Israeli officials remain deeply concerned about Tehran’s expanding ballistic missile capabilities and nuclear ambitions.

Adding to the confrontational tone, Ayatollah Khamenei released a statement ahead of the 2025 annual meeting of the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe, claiming that Iran had already withstood a major assault by the U.S. military. He credited what he described as the courage and sacrifice of Iran’s youth for overcoming what he called Washington’s “heavy assault” in the region.

The escalating rhetoric from Tehran underscores the growing strain between Iran and the West, as the Trump Administration continues to apply pressure aimed at curbing Iran’s military expansion, missile development, and regional influence, while reaffirming its commitment to Israel’s security.