Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for regional and global peace as the country's armed allies around the region continue to weaken.
“We desire friendly relations with the countries of the region and the world, and we are striving to establish peace and security both inside and outside the country,” he said on Thursday during his trip to North Khorasan province.
In a possible bid to publicly align with Khamenei's decades-long policy of arming militias around the region and accelerating the country's nuclear program, he added that Iran's actions were a matter of self-defense.
“We do not intend to invade other countries' territories, nor will we allow anyone to encroach upon our borders or rights. Preserving the integrity of the country is a fundamental principle for us, but at the same time, our focus is on peace and security," he said.
Iran's militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza have in recent months suffered huge blows.
Pezeshkian's comments also follow statements in recent days from the new Sunni Islamist leaders of Syria, who have warned Iran to stay out of the country's internal affairs since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran had been a heavy presence in the country since 2011, with military bases and personnel across Syria.
Pezeshkian’s call for diplomacy stands in contrast to the Supreme Leader’s persistent rejection of normalization with the West and Israel, suggesting that Iran’s pursuit of peace may remain contingent upon maintaining its ideological and geopolitical conflicts.
In his speech, Pezeshkian also addressed critical domestic issues, acknowledging the impact of mismanagement on the country’s energy crisis.
“Today, we have the largest oil and gas reserves, but consuming three or four times more than Europe has caused us a crisis,” he said, before promising to address the inefficiencies that have led to power and gas shortages.
The government's long-standing narrative, which blames the energy crisis on the people's excessive consumption, has become increasingly ineffective in the face of rising public frustration.
Calls on citizens to conserve energy have become a familiar refrain, yet many Iranians are growing skeptical of these appeals, viewing them as a justification for government inaction rather than a genuine solution.
Iran's energy crisis has deepened in this year, marked by frequent power outages and gas shortages. The country, which holds some of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world, has struggled with inefficient energy consumption, outdated infrastructure, and mismanagement.