Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied suggestions that his country plotted to kill United States President-elect Donald Trump after two previous attempts on his life in 2024.
Pezeshkian also insisted that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and warned Trump against risking “war”.
Pezeshkian said: “We have never attempted this [the assassination bid on Trump] to begin with and we never will.”
Pezeshkian also reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and that Tehran is not seeking “nuclear weaponry”.
“I do hope that Trump will conduce to peace in the region and the world, not conversely contribute to bloodshed or war,” Pezeshkian said. “We will react to any action. We do not fear war, but we do not seek it.”
Asked about the possibility of talks with Trump, the Iranian president said, “The problem we have is not in dialogue. It’s in the commitments that arise from talks and dialogue that we’ll have to commit to … It was the other party [that] did not live up to its promises and obligations.”
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. Law enforcement thwarted the alleged plan before any attack was carried out.
