Hardliners in Iran blast president for denying Trump assassination plot

Iran's ultraconservatives condemned President Masoud Pezeshkian for his comments to NBC News, in which he denied Iran’s intention to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump.

In an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, Pezeshkian dismissed accusations that Iran planned to avenge the January 2020 targeted killing of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, which Trump ordered. This stance diverges sharply from multiple threats Iranian officials have made against Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Kayhan, a leading ultraconservative newspaper closely associated with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, issued a scathing editorial addressing Pezeshkian directly: “Mr. President, you don’t own Iran.” The editorial argued that Pezeshkian had overstepped his authority and outlined its objections: “First, it is beyond your jurisdiction; second, for reasons we will outline, it is entirely contrary to our national interests; and third, it sends a message of humiliation to the sworn enemy of Islamic Iran.”

Vatan-e Emrooz, another conservative outlet, criticized Pezeshkian for asserting in the interview that Iran had never intended to harm Trump. The paper questioned whether the president had the authority to abandon Iran’s stated commitment to punishing those responsible for Soleimani’s assassination. “No! Iranian officials have repeatedly emphasized their determination to punish this criminal murderer, and Iran will certainly take the necessary steps to carry out this punishment,” the newspaper declared.

Iran’s apparent effort to portray Pezeshkian as a moderate and pragmatic leader comes amid deep economic turmoil and major setbacks in Lebanon and Syria last year. The country’s leadership faces mounting pressure to alleviate US economic sanctions, which are critical for the Islamic Republic’s financial survival.

However, Vatan-e Emrooz underscored that Iranian hardliners remain committed to confronting the United States. The paper declared: “Certainly, if legal pursuits prove fruitless and international judicial bodies remain inactive, the broad Resistance Front will place the issue of punishing Trump on its agenda through other means.”

This sentiment echoes a threat issued by former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in January 2022, when he warned, “If Trump and Pompeo are not tried in a fair court for the criminal act of assassinating General Soleimani, Muslims will take our martyr's revenge.”

Both Kayhan and Vatan-e Emrooz reiterated that Pezeshkian had no authority to dismiss Iran’s pursuit of justice for Soleimani’s death. “Neither Mr. Pezeshkian nor anyone else can claim that Iran and the Resistance Front have abandoned the pursuit of justice against Trump and his accomplices for the martyrdom of Haj Qassem Soleimani,” Vatan-e Emrooz warned.