TEHRAN – Iranian President Maud Pezeshkian broke his usual positive and gentle attitude when he spoke to his American counterpart during a gathering in western Iran, saying Donald Trump cannot follow his path with Iran through threats and lies.
Trump is currently in West Asia and has completed a three-country tour of the Persian Gulf. Aside from the billion-dollar weapons and investment deals with Arabs, his visit has so far been characterized by multiple provocative statements against Iran. The president himself believes it will ultimately help him reach an agreement with the country during the ongoing negotiations on the nuclear program.
During his brief but controversial stay in the region, the US president has on multiple occasions called Iran a supporter of “terrorism” and mentioned resistance groups, Tehran has supported the fight against Israeli occupation. Trump also called Iran the region’s “large destructive” force, laughing at the country’s financial and economic struggles caused by decades of US sanctions and wanting to sign a new nuclear deal with Iran. He says that if Iran does not agree to a new deal, “very bad things” will happen.
“It’s naive to think that (Trump) is that he wants to come to our area and threaten us and return against his demands. We never negotiate dignity. This is in the blood of all Iranians.”
Pezeshkian said Trump also hopes to motivate Iranians and create divisions within the country. “You only achieve that goal in your dreams. Iran continues to make progress, with or without trade.”
The Iranian president also denounced Trump for suggesting that Iran supports “terrorism,” and reminded him that he actually ordered the assassination of General Kasem Soleimani, the Iranian commander who led the fight against the Derstarcters in the 2010s. General Soleimani lost his life in the 2020 US drone attack in Baghdad.
“You’ve tried to get Iran to kneel for the past 47 years. We’ve been around for thousands of years, and we’ll continue for the next few years.”
In the summer of 2024, Pezeshkian became president of Iran. He appears to be diminishing his confidence in the US administration as Trump and his cabinets are opposed to the military threat after Trump unraveled his former rival in 2018.