{"id":13163,"date":"2026-05-25T21:21:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/25\/iran-signals-mass-sacrifice-in-high-stakes-saddam-era-warning-amid-trump-deal-talks-fox-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T21:21:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T21:21:23","slug":"iran-signals-mass-sacrifice-in-high-stakes-saddam-era-warning-amid-trump-deal-talks-fox-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/25\/iran-signals-mass-sacrifice-in-high-stakes-saddam-era-warning-amid-trump-deal-talks-fox-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran signals \u2018mass sacrifice\u2019 in ‘high stakes’ Saddam-era warning amid Trump deal talks – Fox News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

President Masoud Pezeshkian invoked one of Iran\u2019s strongest wartime symbols on May 24, signaling Tehran\u2019s resolve to hold its ground against the U.S. and Israel across the region, a counterterrorism expert said.<\/p>\n

The Iranian leader’s remarks came at a key moment in diplomacy, as President Donald Trump<\/a> said a deal with Tehran to end the war is “largely negotiated” and warned the U.S. would either sign “a great and meaningful” agreement or walk away entirely.<\/p>\n

While Iran signaled broad agreement with Washington on some points, it said a final deal is not imminent and that negotiations over the remaining details are still underway.<\/p>\n

IRAN\u2019S TOP DIPLOMAT SAYS NATION\u2019S POWER LIES IN DEFYING PRESSURE: \u2018NO TO THE GREAT POWERS\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks with Fox News Channel’s Martha MacCallum during an interview in New York City on Sept. 25, 2025.<\/span> (John Lamparski\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In an X post<\/a> marking the anniversary of the 1982 recapture of Khorramshahr from Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq War, Pezeshkian said, “Khorramshahr today is Iran, the Persian Gulf, and the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that “resistance, self-sacrifice, and repelling aggression are rooted in the culture of this land.”<\/p>\n

Analysts claimed Pezeshkian was deliberately invoking one of the deepest ideological touchstones of the Islamic Republic \u2014 the battle that came to symbolize national resistance, civilian sacrifice and defiance against invasion.<\/p>\n

“This is the Iran-Iraq War reference, and the timing is the point,” said Dr. Omar Mohammed<\/a>, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University.<\/p>\n

May 24 marks the anniversary of the 1982 liberation of Khorramshahr, the southwestern city Saddam Hussein captured early in the war and Iranian forces retook after months of brutal urban combat.<\/p>\n

FROM HOSTAGE CRISIS TO ASSASSINATION PLOTS: IRAN\u2019S NEAR HALF-CENTURY WAR ON AMERICANS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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An Iranian flag is placed amid rubble next to a destroyed residential building near Ferdowsi Square in Tehran on March 3, 2026.<\/span> (Atta Kenare\/AFP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“This is one of the Islamic Republic\u2019s foundational mythological moments \u2014 civilian resistance, mass sacrifice, repelling an \u2018aggressor army.\u2019 Roughly what the Great Patriotic War is to Russia<\/a>. The rhetorical move is the extension,” Mohammed told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

“He\u2019s mapping the 1980-82 defensive-war frame onto the current confrontation: Iran attacked by an aggressor, ordinary citizens (\u2018battle-untested but brave\u2019) expected to stand and fight, with \u2018resistance, sacrifice, repelling aggression\u2019 cast as the cultural default mode.”<\/p>\n

Some of the phrasing, Mohammed said, also evokes volunteer and Basij fighters versus a professional invading army. The analyst noted that Pezeshkian\u2019s “Hormuz line” comment reflects a standard Iranian escalation tactic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

IRAN TO HOLD LIVE-FIRE DRILLS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ WITH US ARMADA IN MIDDLE EAST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President Donald Trump stand together in an official setting.<\/span> (Majid Saeedi\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Invoking the strait inside a wartime-mobilization frame \u2014 even rhetorically \u2014 is a deliberate signal, not throat-clearing,” he added.<\/p>\n

“The Khorramshahr frame is the deepest register the regime has. It\u2019s what they reach for to signal existential war, not a<\/a> managed crisis.”<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Mohammed explained that Pezeshkian\u2019s X post is framing the current confrontation from the presidential account to send a “high-stakes message.”<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s also a tell on internal posture: Khorramshahr, in short, means \u2018we are being invaded and we will not negotiate,\u2019” he added.<\/p>\n

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Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! President Masoud Pezeshkian invoked one of Iran\u2019s strongest wartime symbols on May 24, signaling Tehran\u2019s resolve to hold its ground against the U.S. and Israel across the region, a counterterrorism expert said. The Iranian leader’s remarks came at a key moment in diplomacy, as President Donald Trump […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}