Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused the United States of making fake diplomatic overtures while trying to undermine his government.
Addressing a crowd in Tehran to mark the 46th anniversary of the Iranian revolution on Monday, Pezeshkian said US President Donald Trump was trying to bring the country “to its knees”.
Iran has grown increasingly frustrated at Trump for bringing back the “maximum pressure” campaign he started against the country during his first term. The move seeks to nullify Iran’s oil exports and its nuclear activities. Trump has also suggested he wants to reach a deal with Iran over its advancing nuclear programme.
Iran’s 10-day celebrations marking the ouster of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi start each year on January 31, the anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Tehran from exile in 1979.
Iranian officials urged citizens to attend the festivities in large numbers this year after Trump’s sanctions announcement. On Monday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded streets across big cities – from Bandar Abbas in the south to Rasht in the north. Many chanted slogans against the US and Israel and carried portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian flag, television broadcasts showed. American flags were also burned.
The Iranian president also singled out the US for backing Israel as it “bombs the innocent people of Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and anywhere it wants”.
On February 4, Trump said he was hopeful for “a deal” with Iran even as he unveiled new sanctions against the country.
Trump also warned on the same day that if Iran tried to assassinate him, the country would be “obliterated”. “I’ve left instructions — if they do it, they get obliterated. There won’t be anything left,” Trump said.
In November 2024, the US Justice Department said it thwarted an Iranian plot to kill Trump. Iranian officials, at the time, dismissed the allegation.
