Iran puts onus on U.S. to end war as China presses for de-escalation
TEHRAN, IRAN – MARCH 15: People clear rubble in a house in the Beryanak District after it was damaged by missile attacks two days before, on March 15, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. The United States and Israel continued their joint attack on Iran that began on February 28. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, and targeting U.S. allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
Majid Saeedi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it is up to the U.S. to decide whether to end their seven-month war, amid continued missile strikes in the Middle East and a fresh push by China to help broker a peace resolution.
“It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not,” Pezeshkian said, responding to a question about whether the war could end by year-end, in an interview aired Thursday on Fox News.
The remarks came as the Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Friday morning, according to Saudi authorities, who said they intercepted six ballistic missiles.
Emergency alerts were issued in Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan planned an urgent meeting of their chiefs of staff to discuss ways to support the kingdom under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.
Pezeshkian has sought to distance Tehran from the escalation, telling Fox News “the Houthis are responsible for their own actions” and that Iran is “not at war with Saudi Arabia.” The Houthis, he said, “have their own issues.”
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti struck a starkly different tone, telling troops to be ready “to lay down their lives” to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power.
The widening front has kept oil markets on edge. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for November delivery declined 1% at $93.66 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for November dropped 0.68% at $105.86 per barrel.
Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, normally the route for about a fifth of global oil supply, fell to 9, far below peacetime levels, according to Reuters, citing preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Friday.
Diplomatically, the war has become entangled with this week’s U.S.-China summit in Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a three-day state visit to the U.S., meeting with President Donald Trump on issues spanning trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and Iran.
Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for the Middle East, said at an event in Singapore that “the Middle East situation was a big issue in the leaders’ discussion that just took place, and the consensus they reached there will be critical to cooling the temperature in the conflict.”
Trump has sought Beijing’s help pressuring Tehran toward a settlement, after indirect U.S.-Iran talks resumed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week. Iranian officials have signaled they could reopen the Strait within seven days, if Washington begins easing its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
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