Masoud Pezeshkian tries to convey message of national unity as negotiations with US hang in balance
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Iran’s president insisted his country was not seeking a nuclear weapon as he acknowledged “great sorrow” after the authorities’ recent crackdown on protesters.
Speaking to crowds gathered across Iran to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, Masoud Pezeshkian sought to claim a message of national unity after demonstrations that roiled the country and triggered an unprecedented crisis for the regime.
The comments were made against a backdrop of negotiations with the US that hang in the balance, with the prospect of a military confrontation on the table and repeated claims by Iranian military leadership that it is ready to confront and defeat America. On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East to prepare for military action if talks with Tehran failed.
