In a phone call on Tuesday with European Council President Antonio Costa, Pezeshkian said Iran has the \u201cnecessary will\u201d to bring the conflict to an end – provided that \u201cessential conditions, especially guarantees to prevent renewed aggression, are met.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following Pezeshkian\u2019s remarks, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the \u201cpresident of the new Iranian regime\u201d had requested a ceasefire. Oil prices dipped slightly after the comments.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials swiftly rejected Trump\u2019s characterization. Mehdi Tabatabaei, the deputy for communications and information at the president\u2019s office, responded on X:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe position of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the defense of the nation against the aggression of evildoers and the conditions for ending the imposed war has not changed, and there is no regard for the delusions and lies of criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a letter addressed to the American public published on Wednesday, Pezeshkian reiterated that Iran\u2019s military actions were \u201cpurely a response and defense, not the initiation of war and aggression.\u201d He described continued confrontation as \u201ccostly and fruitless,\u201d signaling a more pragmatic tone from parts of the political establishment.<\/p>\n
Hardliners and figures aligned with the security establishment have set stricter conditions for ending the war. Mohsen Rezaei, now a military adviser to Mojtaba Khamenei, has said the conflict should only end with reparations and guarantees, including the removal of US bases from the region.<\/p>\n
Hardliner backlash intensifies<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian\u2019s comments triggered strong criticism from conservative and hardline figures. Lawmaker Hamid Rasaei described the remarks as evidence of a \u201cwavering personality\u201d and \u201cpassivity in the face of the enemy,\u201d arguing that such positions could embolden further attacks.<\/p>\n
Rasaei has previously compared Pezeshkian to Iran\u2019s first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, who was removed from office by parliament for \u201cpolitical incompetence\u201d. Similar comparisons have circulated widely on social media in recent days.<\/p>\n
Some critics framed the conflict as a struggle between \u201ctruth and falsehood\u201d and opposed any negotiated settlement short of total victory.<\/p>\n
Calls for deterrence over diplomacy<\/p>\n
In an open letter published on X, hardline activist Mohammad Shirakvand criticized Pezeshkian\u2019s appeal for European guarantees, writing: \u201cWhen you yourself state that the United States does not believe in diplomacy, what does speaking of guarantees for ending the war mean other than repeating a costly mistake?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis war is a battle of truth against falsehood and an arena of clashing wills. The government must play on this field, not on promises that have repeatedly proven unreliable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Shirakvand argued that \u201creal guarantees are not built through diplomacy, but through power and deterrence on the battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another widely shared post by a conservative account, Rah-e Dialameh, described Pezeshkian\u2019s remarks as \u201csending a signal of weakness to the enemy,\u201d linking them to the drop in oil prices and warning that such a strategy \u201cmust be stopped before it causes further damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some hardline users accused Pezeshkian of \u201csending ceasefire signals\u201d and weakening Iran\u2019s military posture, demanding that security authorities \u201ccontrol\u201d him.<\/p>\n
One user appeared to issue an implicit threat, suggesting authorities should restrict his public appearances \u201cto protect his life,\u201d claiming the country \u201cis better managed on autopilot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Son defends the president\u2019s stance<\/p>\n
Amid escalating criticism, Pezeshkian\u2019s son and adviser, Yousef Pezeshkian, publicly defended his father. He challenged critics\u2019 logic, asking: \u201cI do not understand the meaning of these criticisms; are we not seeking to meet conditions and obtain guarantees? Or are we seeking war until the complete destruction of America and Israel?\u201d<\/p>\n
He framed the president\u2019s position as a realistic attempt at conditional de-escalation, contrasting it with what he implied were unrealistic or maximalist goals.<\/p>\n
He also defended his father\u2019s earlier apology to neighboring countries affected by Iranian strikes, calling it an \u201cethical duty\u201d and highlighting efforts to maintain regional relations despite the conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a phone call on Tuesday with European Council President Antonio Costa, Pezeshkian said Iran has the \u201cnecessary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375606,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,87,98127,98124,98123,20889,98125,59417,92,98122,98126,46,47,43,81563],"class_list":{"0":"post-375605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-iran-and-china","11":"tag-iran-covid","12":"tag-iran-economy","13":"tag-iran-government","14":"tag-iran-media-iran-and-the-united-states","15":"tag-iran-news","16":"tag-iran-nuclear","17":"tag-iran-politics","18":"tag-iran-us","19":"tag-israel","20":"tag-middle-east","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-us-sanctions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}