The Iranian president denies a conspiracy to kill Trump, calls on him to strive for peace News about Donald Trump
The interview comes less than a week before Trump, who has previously taken a tough stance on Tehran, returns to power.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected suggestions that his country planned to assassinate United States President-elect Donald Trump after two previous assassination attempts on him in 2024.
In an interview with US media outlet NBC News broadcast on Tuesday, Pezeshkian also insisted that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and warned Trump not to risk “war”.
The interview with the Iranian president, considered by many to be centrist, aired less than a week before the inauguration of Trump, who has pursued a tough policy against Iran during his first term.
Pezeshkian told NBC: “We’ve never tried this [the assassination bid on Trump] to begin with, we never will.”
In November, the US Department of Justice charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate the Republican leader. Police thwarted the alleged plan before the attack was carried out.
Trump said during the US election campaign last year that Iran might be behind it tries to kill him.
The 78-year-old, who won last year’s US election and will take office on Monday, survived two assassination attempts on the campaign trail – one in September while playing golf on his West Palm Beach, Florida course, and another in July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Investigators found no evidence of Iranian involvement in either. Iran has also previously rejected US claims of meddling in US affairs, including through cyber operations.
He calls for peace
Pezeshkian also reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that Tehran is not seeking “nuclear weapons.”
During Trump’s first term, the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) a deal that lifted sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for oversight.
During his recent presidential campaign, Trump also threatened that US ally Israel could attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I hope that Trump will contribute to peace in the region and the world, and not vice versa contribute to bloodshed or war,” Pezeshkian told NBC. “We will react to every action. We are not afraid of war, but we are not looking for it either.”
Asked about the possibility of talks with Trump, the Iranian president said: “The problem we have is not dialogue. We will have to dedicate ourselves to the obligations arising from the conversation and dialogue… It was the other side [that] he did not fulfill his promises and obligations.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reported on Tuesday that ongoing talks with European powers show that they are serious about resuming negotiations on the nuclear program.
