Iran's Pezeshkian rejects Trump's call for talks, denounces 'plots' against Tehran
US President Donald Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran while simultaneously calling for negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian dismissed on Monday US President Donald Trump’s call for negotiations over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, citing the contradiction between Trump's diplomatic gestures and his continued "maximum pressure" strategy against the Islamic Republic. Trump’s overtures for talks come amid reports that his team fears an Iranian assassination plot.
Speaking in Tehran on the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Pezeshkian said that while the US president "says he wants to negotiate, at the same time he signs a document [ordering] all kinds of plots to bring the Islamic Revolution to its knees."
Trump signed a memorandum last week outlining a strategy aimed at “denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon and countering Iran’s malign influence abroad,” including via the imposition of additional sanctions.
On Sunday, Trump told The New York Post that he would prefer to reach an agreement with Iran regarding their alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon, stating that a deal would be preferable to military action.
