US President Donald Trump has no right to call Iran a threat because it is the United States that poses a danger to the Middle East because it is interested in starting a war, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said.

"Trump thinks he can impose sanctions against us and threaten us. However, he himself is the one responsible for the crimes and instability in the region. Who killed 60 thousand people in Gaza? Who deprives these poor people of water and food? You are doing this. Trump, you say that we [i.e. Iran] are a threat, but you are not a threat. You say that we produce missiles and bombs. But what do you do yourselves?" Pezeshkian said on the air of Iranian state television and radio.

"I am not saying that we are perfect. But you, showing cowardice, are committing genocide in front of the whole world. The Americans need a war to sell their weapons. For us, all the countries of the region are brothers. We strive for peace, whereas the Americans are warmongers. We want peaceful relations with all our neighbors,” the Iranian president added.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday stated that Iran was allegedly sowing terrorism in the Middle East. If Tehran rejected peace, he said, Washington would increase pressure on it, reducing Iranian oil exports to zero. And on the same day, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iran.