Iran's president says it's up to US to end the war, Tehran doesn't want to keep fighting

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with Fox News, aired Thursday, that it is up to the United States to decide whether to end the war with Iran, since Tehran does not wish to keep fighting. A day earlier, Pezeshkian had traveled to New York to address the United Nations, striking a defiant tone and declaring that Iran would not "bend at the knee" to Washington. He was also reported to be due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Diplomatic efforts continue on multiple fronts

Alongside the Iranian president's comments, several other countries are engaged in efforts related to the conflict. British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, in a meeting that the UK will not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on British soil carried out by groups linked to Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France would deploy military assets to help protect Saudi Arabia's key Yanbu oil terminal from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, said China supports a return by the US and Iran to the June agreement that was meant to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The developments underscore that even as fighting continues, intense international diplomacy is under way, involving both Western and Asian powers seeking a resolution to the conflict.