Masoud Pezeshkian’s interview with NBC, broadcast on Wednesday, January 15, and his remarks expressing the Iranian regime’s readiness to negotiate with the U.S. while denying any plans by Tehran to assassinate Trump, were met with harsh reactions and strong responses from regime affiliates and media considered proxies of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Asked about the reported plot against Trump outlined by U.S. authorities, Pezeshkian said: “This is another one of those schemes that Israel and other countries are designing to promote Iranophobia. … Iran has never attempted to nor does it plan to assassinate anyone.”
The NBC reporter then asked Pezeshkian, “You’re saying there was never an Iranian plot to kill Donald Trump?”
“None whatsoever,” Pezeshkian replied.
Asked whether his regime is willing to promise that there will be no attempt on Trump’s life, Pezeshkian said, “We have never attempted this to begin with, and we never will.”
Pezeshkian’s denials and disavowals of any actions or intentions by the clerical regime to assassinate Trump come despite a public speech by Khamenei on December 16, 2020, where he declared: “The murderer of Soleimani and the one who ordered his killing must pay for their revenge. The avenger, the murderer, and the one who gave the order should know that whenever possible, at any time possible, we are pursuing the means and the right moment. They must pay for their revenge.”
Regime leaders and IRGC commanders have repeatedly made similar statements. For instance, on February 23, 2023, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said in remarks broadcast on state TV: “God willing, we will be able to kill Trump, Pompeo, McKenzie, and those military commanders who issued this order. They must be killed.”
When asked whether he would engage in dialogue with the U.S., Pezeshkian replied, “The problem we have is not in dialogue. It’s in the commitments that arise from talk and dialogue that we’ll have to commit to.”
Pezeskhian claimed that when Iran’s held talks with major powers about its nuclear program, “we upheld all the commitments that we had to commit to. But unfortunately it was the other party that did not live up to its promises and obligations.”
Pezeshkian’s responses and positions in this interview regarding negotiations with the U.S. and the denial of plans to assassinate Trump provoked strong reactions from Khamenei’s “proxies.”
Hossein Shariatmadari, Khamenei’s representative in Kayhan newspaper, wrote in the paper’s editorial on Thursday, January 16, 2025, titled “Mr. Pezeshkian! You Do Not Own Iran!”: “Your remarks are, first of all, beyond your jurisdiction; secondly, they are completely against national interests; and thirdly, they send a message of humiliation to a sworn enemy.”
On the same day, Kayhan’s main front-page headline read: “Mr. Pezeshkian! Trump Is a Terrorist, His Punishment Is Certain.”
Under this headline and responding to Pezeshkian’s statement that the regime never had the intention to carry out an assassination attempt, Kayhan wrote: “This strange position contradicts the explicit stance of the Supreme Leader regarding the punishment of those who ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.”
Kayhan further addressed Pezeshkian: “We are not terrorists, but we consider Trump and several of his colleagues, including Mike Pompeo, as the murderers of Qassem Soleimani, deserving of death. Avenging them is a religious and legal duty of every Iranian; therefore, your duty as an Iranian is to execute this divine command, not to negotiate with the killer of Martyr Soleimani or exchange pleasantries!”
Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of Khamenei’s office, also reacted to Pezeshkian’s comments about relations with the U.S., writing, “Negotiating with the U.S. after 46 years of resistance will not solve even a fraction of our problems, but rather, it will squander all our achievements and epitomize absolute and complete loss. Therefore, with firm conviction and a loud voice, we declare that negotiations with the U.S. do not serve our interests.”