ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday voiced concern over the country’s deepening internal conflicts, warning “we will destroy ourselves” if divisions persist.

“We are sleeping on gold, but we are hungry; it is our managers, officials, politicians, and lawmakers who are to blame, not America,” Pezeshkian said during a meeting with officials in the historical city of Isfahan on Thursday, the state-owned IRNA news agency reported. 

Pezeshkian voiced concern over the country's internal disputes, stating: “I am not afraid of America and Israel, I am afraid of internal conflicts and disputes.” 

Iran has been grappling with crippling sanctions, economic decline, and a sharp depreciation of its currency in recent years, with more trouble to be expected following the reactivation of international sanctions against Tehran over its noncompliance with the nuclear program.

Pezeshkian emphasized that if we work together, we will overcome problems, but if we fight, “we will destroy ourselves,” noting that there will be no need for Israel and the US to come and do so. 

International pressure on Iran has also intensified, as the United Nations formally reimposed a global arms embargo and other sanctions after the UK, France, and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), accusing Tehran of violating the accord.

The Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent US involvement in June came amid ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington to reach an understanding regarding Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The talks fell through following Israel’s attack.

The Iranian government in late September announced its preparedness for the reimposition of international sanctions by Western powers, saying it has spent months studying plans to deal with the economic fallout from the move.