{"text":[[{"start":7.85,"text":"Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for Tehran to end the war with the US from a “position of strength”, as economic pressure fuels debate within the regime about how much further to pursue the conflict."}],[{"start":20,"text":"US President Donald Trump this week said Washington would mount a new campaign of “economic warfare” against Iran in a strategy to force it to cave to his demands and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after weeks of torturous diplomatic efforts."}],[{"start":33.95,"text":"An interim agreement between the two countries fell apart last month, with both sides accusing each other of violating it. The regime’s top wartime and military decision makers — including the powerful Revolutionary Guards — insist that Washington cannot be trusted and that Tehran is able to resist economic pressure and inflict a greater cost before agreeing to a final settlement."}],[{"start":56.550000000000004,"text":"But senior officials, including Pezeshkian and parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, have warned of growing economic pain as Iranians struggle with the spiralling cost of living."}],[{"start":69.7,"text":"In public remarks on Friday, Pezeshkian, who is responsible for running the economy but does not decide wartime strategy, said it would be “better to end the war today while we are in a position of strength and dignity”."}],[{"start":82.15,"text":"He defended the interim memorandum of understanding Tehran signed with Washington in June, designed to gradually reopen the strait and lay the foundation for further talks, as “dignified”, claiming that Iran had made no “concessions” while the US had taken on “all obligations”."}],[{"start":99.95,"text":"His comments came as Trump appeared to be betting on using further economic pressure to weaken the regime, both through the US blockade on Iranian ports and what he said would be “tremendous economic consequences” for countries that trade with Tehran."}],[{"start":114.4,"text":"US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who said he would announce measures against Iran on Monday, added that Washington was seeking to “collapse” the Islamic republic with “the toughest sanctions in history”."}],[{"start":126.05000000000001,"text":"Iran’s foreign ministry said US sanctions constituted “economic terrorism” and “crimes against humanity”, adding that those ordering and implementing them were “liable for prosecution and punishment”."}],[{"start":138.5,"text":"Iran’s leaders have resisted reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial Gulf waterway and the country’s main source of leverage over the US, without securing guarantees that Washington will meet its commitments under any deal."}],[{"start":150.85,"text":"But some within the system worry that Tehran is overplaying its hand."}],[{"start":155.79999999999998,"text":"Abdolnaser Hemmati, Iran’s central bank governor, said this week that Iran’s oil exports were halted, affecting the country’s oil sales revenues. “It is a reality that we are not exporting oil,” he said. “The Americans have frozen our foreign exchange reserves and do not allow us to access them.”"}],[{"start":172.99999999999997,"text":"Yaser Mirzaei, deputy head of Iran’s Energy Optimisation Organisation, a state body that addresses the nation’s energy challenges and management of resources, added that the country was facing “limitations” in petrol imports and had been “significantly drawing from reserves” in recent months to meet “excessively high consumption”."}],[{"start":193.24999999999997,"text":"Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei this month appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a former Guards commander, as the country’s top security official in a move that Iranian analysts interpreted as a sign that figures such as Ghalibaf had been pushed aside."}],[{"start":209.34999999999997,"text":"But speaking in neighbouring Iraq on Friday, Ghalibaf said the country should not confuse military and economic resilience."}],[{"start":217.09999999999997,"text":"“No matter how strong we are militarily, if the people are hungry and we do not have financial circulation, economic growth and domestic production, we will not endure,” he said. “We must plan to overcome these oppressive sanctions.”"}],[{"start":239.54999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1787527352_1236.mp3"}