Iran does not want to see tension and insecurity spread across the region but will act with full force to defend its security, national interests and territorial integrity, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, Afkar News reported on August 3.

The remarks, made at the launch of the second phase of a national family-medicine programme rather than a security event, offer a gauge of Tehran's public posture after a nearly five-month war with the United States and Israel that began in February and a ceasefire that collapsed in mid-July over a dispute tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

Pezeshkian, who has argued that the economy has become the central front in that confrontation, framed his comments around what he described as enemy efforts to disrupt the country's progress, while presenting a stronger, healthier society as a component of national resilience.

Pezeshkian said Tehran did not seek to widen tension and insecurity in the region, in a direct message to Arab neighbours, but would act with all its capacity to defend its security, national interests and territorial integrity. He added that strengthening social capital, improving public health and raising national resilience were among the most important elements of the country's standing.

Most of the address dealt with domestic health policy. Pezeshkian called for the family-medicine and referral programme to be rolled out nationwide within one to two years, rather than remaining limited to the 64 target cities, and said the country was not lacking in specialist manpower, elites or scientific infrastructure compared with developed nations.

He said the programme was intended to organise the delivery of health services, cut out-of-pocket payments, improve efficiency and quality, and deliver fairer access to care, rather than to place restrictions on the public.

Strengthening information-technology infrastructure, developing smart systems and upgrading training were prerequisites for accelerating its implementation, he said.

The exchange follows months of Trump warning that the United States could strike Iranian targets again, including power plants, bridges and water networks, if Tehran delayed a deal or moved to rebuild its nuclear and missile programmes.

Pezeshkian has dismissed those threats as a sign of weakness rather than strength, saying Iran would stand firm through national unity and domestic expertise, and warning that any aggression would draw a severe response.

Iran has repeatedly denied seeking a nuclear weapon, insisting its programme is civilian, and both US intelligence and the UN nuclear watchdog assessed before the February strikes that Tehran was not building a bomb.

Iran has said it is no longer enriching uranium at any site while signalling it remains open to negotiation, though it has ruled out talks over its missile programme.