Global & US Headlines
Iran’s Pezeshkian Declares “Total War” With U.S., Israel and Europe Ahead of Netanyahu-Trump Summit
On 27 Dec 2025, President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly stated on Ayatollah Khamenei’s website that Iran is already in a full-scale, multifront war against the United States, Israel and key European powers.
Focusing Facts
- The declaration was published 27 Dec 2025, two days before Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled 29 Dec meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
- Iran claims June 2025 Israeli-U.S. strikes killed nearly 1,100 Iranians during a 12-day air war; Iran’s retaliatory missiles killed 28 in Israel.
- France, Germany and the U.K. reinstated U.N. sanctions on Iran in Sept 2025 over its nuclear programme.
Context
Leaders rarely proclaim a de-facto war without firing another shot; Pezeshkian’s rhetoric echoes Gamal Abdel Nasser’s 1967 vow to confront “the West and Zionism,” a promise that preceded the Six-Day War by mere weeks. Structurally, the statement signals Iran’s shift from covert ‘gray-zone’ conflict—cyber attacks, proxies, sanctions evasion—into overt framing of an existential, civilisational struggle, something not seen since Tehran’s 1980-88 trench war with Iraq. It crystallises three long-running trends: the erosion of the JCPOA-era diplomatic architecture, the return of U.S.–Iran military escalation under Trump’s second presidency, and Israel’s strategy of pre-emptive strikes on regional missile and nuclear sites. Whether historians in 2125 view this December pronouncement as a mere propaganda spike or the opening note of a larger regional conflagration will hinge on deterrence credibility; yet its timing—just before a U.S.–Israeli summit—shows how public signalling now substitutes for back-channel bargaining in an increasingly multipolar Middle East.
Perspectives
Turkish state-affiliated media
TRT World, Anadolu Ajansı — Report Pezeshkian’s claim that Iran faces a “comprehensive war” waged by the US, Israel and Europe, stressing the June air-strikes that killed more than 1,000 Iranians and portraying Tehran as under siege. Stories echo Iran’s narrative and minimise Tehran’s own retaliatory missile attacks, aligning with Ankara-linked outlets’ routine scepticism of Western and Israeli policies.
Right-leaning U.S. and pro-Israel commentary sites
PJ Media, Matzav.com — Cast the statement as fresh evidence of the Islamic Republic’s belligerence and predict that renewed Israeli-U.S. pressure could topple the ‘mullahs’ while justifying a possible green-light for further Israeli strikes. Language such as “tyrannical rule” and calls for military action indicate an advocacy stance that may exaggerate the Iranian threat and overlook civilian costs.
Mainstream Western political/business press
POLITICO, Business Standard — Quote the president’s “full-scale war” remarks in a straight-news fashion and tie them to Netanyahu’s upcoming talks with Trump on the Iran issue. The framing centres on U.S.–Israeli diplomatic calculations while offering limited insight into Iranian societal or regional viewpoints, reflecting a Western-centric lens.