Iran's President Says Houthis Act on Their Own, Rejects War Charges

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Yemen's Houthis are responsible for their own actions and do not take directions from Tehran, while insisting that Iran has never initiated a war.

In an interview broadcast in New York, Pezeshkian said the Houthis act as part of the region's "resisting" forces responding to circumstances imposed on them. He described Iran's contacts with the group as informal rather than a systematic relationship, and said a similar sense of a common framework exists with Hezbollah.

On the wider confrontation, the Iranian president said Tehran "did not choose war" and that conflict had been forced upon it. He said Iran does not seek war but would defend itself whenever attacked, and would respond strongly and resolutely if fighting continued.

Pezeshkian also rejected what he described as pressure aimed at forcing Iran to surrender outside the framework of international law, calling such an outcome impossible.

Asked why no video had emerged of Iran's Supreme Leader addressing the Iranian people about the war, Pezeshkian attributed the absence to a lack of security created by foreign actions. He said Iran has been the victim and target of terrorism, and that it wishes to live in peace in the region.