Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday dismissed US President Donald Trump's claim of an internal rift in the country's leadership and asserted that all Iranians are united as "revolutionaries". He emphasized that all Iranians are fully aligned with the Supreme Leader and stand together against any external aggression.
This statement followed Trump's remarks that there was infighting within Iran's political and military establishment.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian rejected Trump's claims of internal rift between "hardliners" and "moderates" and said, "In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates; we are all "Iranian" and "revolutionary," and with the iron unity of the nation and government, with complete obedience to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions."
Saying that Iran will make the aggressor regret their actions, he wrote, “One God, one nation, one leader, and one path; that path being the path to the victory of our dear Iran, more precious than life.”
The remark came after Trump, in a post on social media platform Truth Social, claimed there was internal division within Iran's leadership. Alleging there is infighting between "hardliners" and "moderates" in the country's political and military establishment, Trump said that Iran was struggling to determine its leadership direction. According to the US president's statement, deep internal discord existed in Iran amid diplomatic engagements to find a comprehensive solution to the situation in West Asia.
‘Iran is having a very hard time,’ claims Donald Trump
Describing the infighting as “crazy”, he wrote, “Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don't know! The infighting is between the 'Hardliners,' who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the 'Moderates,' who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY! [sic]”
As per POTUS, the United States maintains strategic control over the critical global oil shipping route — the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports take place.
Trump also warned that the control will persist until a deal is reached with Tehran. He posted, “We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is 'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!! [sic]”
On Wednesday, Pezeshkian slammed Washington for its “hypocritical and contradictory behaviour” as he asserted that "bad faith, siege and threats" are the main obstacles in the US and Iran negotiations.
Iranian president's comments came after Donald Trump announced that he had decided to extend the ceasefire with Tehran to give its “fractured” leadership more time to come up with a unified proposal. According to Trump, he made his decision after receiving requests from the Pakistan Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and the Army Chief, Asim Munir.
On Thursday, oil prices flared amid new concerns that peace talks have stalled. Fresh signs of escalation in the West Asia conflict emerged as Iran activated air defence systems in parts of Tehran to counter “hostile targets", dimming prospects for an imminent resumption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
