Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian emphatically denied allegations that Iran plotted to assassinate President Trump, dismissing them as baseless rumors fueled by “Iranophobia.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt in Tehran, Pezeshkian stated, “This is another one of those schemes that Israel and other countries are designing to promote Iranophobia. … Iran has never attempted to nor does it plan to assassinate anyone. At least as far as I know.”
When pressed about U.S. authorities’ claims of an assassination plot, Pezeshkian was unequivocal. “None whatsoever,” he said, adding, “We have never attempted this to begin with, and we never will.”
In November, U.S. authorities charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting Trump during his 2024 campaign. The Justice Department also charged two others for allegedly conspiring to kill an Iranian American journalist critical of Tehran. Officials claimed the plots were part of Iran’s response to the U.S. drone strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani during Trump’s first term.
Pezeshkian stressed Iran’s openness to dialogue with the incoming Trump administration but questioned the U.S.’s reliability in honoring agreements. “The problem we have is not in dialogue. It’s in the commitments that arise from talk and dialogue that we’ll have to commit to,” he said, accusing the U.S. of seeking to topple the Iranian government rather than resolve disputes.
Pezeshkian cited Iran’s compliance during nuclear talks with world powers as evidence of its commitment to agreements, contrasting it with what he described as the other party’s failure to uphold its promises. “We have this doubt that, no matter how much we engage in conversation and dialogue, they are trying to topple the government, not solve the problems,” he said.
On regional issues, Pezeshkian denied Iranian complicity in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel but reiterated Iran’s commitment to fostering peace. Amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, he stated, “We do whatever we can in order for peace to prevail in the region.”
