TEHRAN — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday questioned the United States’ sincerity in seeking negotiations with Tehran while simultaneously imposing sanctions, a week after President Donald Trump reinstated his administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
Speaking at a rally marking the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of attempting to undermine Iran’s government while publicly calling for diplomacy.
“Trump announces that he wants to negotiate, yet at the same time, he signs executive orders aimed at bringing this revolution to its knees,” Pezeshkian said, adding that Israel, not Iran, was destabilizing the region.
Pezeshkian accused Washington of attempting to portray Iran as weakened to justify potential military action.
“They want to convince the people that Iran is vulnerable and that this is the best opportunity to strike,” he said. “However, with the wise leadership of the supreme leader and the vigilance of our nation, they will take these dreams to their graves.”
The Iranian president also dismissed U.S. allegations that Iran was a destabilizing force in the region, instead pointing to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, which he said were carried out with U.S. support.
“It is Israel that has been bombing the oppressed people of Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and any other place they choose in the region, all with the support of the United States,” he said.
Pezeshkian also referenced the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, in Tehran on his first day in office, blaming the attack on foreign interference.
“They assassinated Ismail Haniyeh in our country, in Tehran, on the very first day I took office because they are afraid of a united Iran,” he said. “They seek to divide us, to create conflict and war.”
Despite his strong rhetoric, Pezeshkian insisted that Iran does not seek war but will not yield to foreign pressure.
“We will never surrender to outsiders,” he said. “But we are not seeking war.”
