Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian has questioned the United States’ sincerity in seeking negotiations with Tehran.
This came as crowds of people, many chanting “Death to America”, rallied across the country to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian state television showed hundreds of thousands of people turning out to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution in a rally the clerical establishment billed as a chance to show unity amid mounting U.S. and Israel pressure.
Pezeshkian dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that he seeks talks with Iran, pointing to Washington’s simultaneous efforts to undermine the Islamic Republic.
In a televised speech at Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Square as the country marks the 46th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Pezeshkian accused Trump of seeking to bring Iran “to its knees.”
Referring to Trump’s reinstatement of sanctions against Tehran this month, he stated, “Trump says, ‘We want to talk’, and then he signs in a memorandum all the conspiracies to bring our revolution to its knees.”
“If the US were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us. They spread propaganda that the country has been weak. We are strong. We never bow to the foreigners.”
Masoud Pezeshkian
He said that Tehran “does not seek war … but will not yield to foreign pressure.”
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Trump said however that he would like to have a verified nuclear peace agreement with Tehran and expressed a willingness to talk to Pezeshkian, who said last week it would be easy to verify Iran was not developing atomic weapons.
Also in his speech, the Iranian leader said that Israel, with the support of the US, is the main cause of “insecurity and bombing of the oppressed people of Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and wherever it wants.”
“The U.S. claims to seek peace, but who has truly disrupted the region? Who is responsible for massacre and destruction in the region? What free-minded person in the world accepts the bombing of women, children, and the sick?”
Masoud Pezeshkian
He asserted that Iran would stand against bullying and intimidation, and that under Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “we will stand against conspiracies and division.”
Khamenei has criticised any proposed talks with the US and described negotiations with America as “not intelligent, wise or honourable.”
He suggested that “there should be no negotiations with such a government”, although he stopped short of issuing a direct order not to engage with Washington.
The annual commemoration of the creation of Iran’s theocracy comes as uncertainty lingers across the nation.
Iran faces heavy sanctions and the threat of more coming from Trump’s White House, even as the US President suggests he wants to reach a deal over the country’s nuclear programme.
Iran’s currency fell to a record low of 928,500 rials to $1 in aftermarket trading on Monday, a drop of more than 6 per cent from Friday.
Pezeshkian Calls For National Unity
Emphasizing the need for national unity, Pezeshkian said that Iran’s success lies in solidarity, echoing the words of the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei. “If we stand together, we can overcome all challenges, and the US will only dream of bringing us down,” he asserted.
Iran, Pezeshkian continued, will resist all of the enemies’ conspiracies under the leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei.
He said that the “enemies” will take all of “these dreams and aspirations to the grave.” He averred, “They call us terrorists yet they themselves are the terrorists,” adding that Iran is, rather, a victim of terrorism.
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