ANTALYA, Turkey — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that Israel deceived U.S. President Donald Trump and pushed him toward war with Iran, stressing that the Islamic Republic bears no responsibility for the current regional situation, as he met Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31).
“The Israeli regime has played the role of a fire-starter in this crisis and, by deceiving Trump, has pushed him toward war,” Pezeshkian told Lula. 
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is not responsible for the current situation in the region. For what purpose and on what basis has the United States entered this region and imposed a naval blockade?”
Pezeshkian said the era of unilateralism has ended, stressing that no country can impose its preferred order on others through force and coercion. He said Iran has never sought and is not seeking nuclear weapons, adding that Washington miscalculated Iran’s capabilities by comparing the country with others. 
“War is in no one’s interest, but the Islamic Republic of Iran will not surrender in the face of oppression and aggression and will deliver a firm response to any attack,” he stated.
The president said Washington has sought to break the resistance of the Iranian nation, pointing to the terrorist assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, military commanders, scientists, schoolchildren and other civilians. 
“Nevertheless, these actions have produced the opposite of what the enemy intended, and national unity and internal cohesion have increased significantly compared to the pre-war period,” he said.
Pezeshkian also said the United States is seeking to restrict Iran’s maritime and air routes and is now attempting to block its land routes, but stressed that such measures will not achieve their intended objectives.
For his part, Lula condemned the U.S. military aggression against Iran, saying Brazil had never imagined Washington would attack the Islamic Republic. 
Recalling his 2010 meeting with the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Brazilian president said he had been explicitly assured that Iran’s nuclear activities were exclusively peaceful. 

“The bombing of Iran was carried out under false pretexts, and this was a very difficult and bitter development for us,” Lula said.
Lula expressed Brazil’s solidarity with Iran, noting that the war has also caused serious economic difficulties for countries around the world, including Brazil, through rising gas, gasoline and oil prices. 
He said Brazil is prepared to take the necessary steps to help restore peace and stability in the region and offered to facilitate efforts toward that goal, expressing readiness to participate in regional security arrangements aimed at strengthening peace.
Criticizing Western efforts to portray Iran negatively in international relations and negotiations, Lula said Western governments repeatedly seek to present a distorted image of the Islamic Republic. 
“American officials are accustomed to lying,” he said, recalling that U.S. officials had advised Brazil against visiting Iran and made false claims about the Iranian people and the country’s commitment to its obligations. 
He stressed the need to counter false narratives about Iran, adding that Brazil wants to contribute to regional peace and ensure that the Iranian people can determine their own future without foreign interference.
Lula also called for expanding bilateral trade, noting that Iran and Brazil have previously recorded $3 billion in trade and that considerable potential exists to increase the figure. 
“From our perspective, Iran has been wronged in this war, and the United States is guilty and responsible for this aggression,” he said. 
The Brazilian president added that his country’s foreign minister will maintain regular consultations with his Iranian counterpart and reaffirmed Brazil’s readiness to expand cooperation with Tehran across various fields.
The two presidents emphasized the extensive potential and diverse opportunities for cooperation between their countries, stressing the need to draw on each country’s respective capabilities to boost bilateral relations and open new avenues for cooperation. 
They underscored the importance of expanding economic and trade ties, enhancing engagement between the private sectors, broadening scientific, technological and agricultural cooperation, and making better use of existing capacities across different sectors.
Pezeshkian and Lula said closer bilateral cooperation should serve the mutual interests of the two nations. They exchanged views on major regional and international developments and the need to strengthen the role of independent countries in global affairs, emphasizing dialogue, constructive engagement, mutual respect for national sovereignty, and adherence to the principles and norms of international law. 
The role of multilateral cooperation and greater convergence among independent countries in addressing shared global challenges was also discussed, with both stressing the need to strengthen cooperation to promote peace, stability, sustainable development, and a fairer international order.
At the beginning of the meeting, Pezeshkian congratulated Lula on his victory in Brazil’s presidential election and wished him success in his current term.
Separately on Thursday, Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with Pezeshkian and his accompanying delegation on the sidelines of COP31. 
They discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations and broaden cooperation across various fields based on mutual interests, focusing on relations between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, on the one hand, and Iran, on the other.
Regional developments, particularly recent events, were another key focus of the meeting, with both sides stressing that wars and conflicts serve the interests of neither party, and that dialogue, mutual understanding, consensus, and diplomatic channels are among the best ways to settle problems and challenges.
Pezeshkian and Barzani also emphasized the importance of pooling the efforts of regional countries and boosting cooperation and coordination among them to strengthen security, maintain stability, and achieve lasting peace for the benefit of all peoples of the region.
Later in the day, Barzani hailed the talks as “productive” in a post on his X account. “This morning in Antalya, I held a productive meeting with His Excellency President Masoud Pezeshkian. We exchanged views on the state of bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and Iran,” he wrote. 
“We stressed the importance of continued coordination and joint efforts to address the region’s challenges, and emphasized that dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation are the best path toward lasting peace and stability,” Barzani added.