Iranians take to social media to demand Pezeshkian’s resignation

Many Iranians have taken to social media to demand the resignation of President Masoud Pezeshkian, citing his unfulfilled promise to step down if he failed to resolve the problem of US sanctions.

The calls for his Pezeshkian's resignation intensified after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Friday speech, in which he firmly rejected the possibility of negotiations with the United States. This appeared to contradict Khamenei’s earlier comments on January 28, where he mentioned “making a deal,” which some interpreted as a subtle indication of openness to talks.

Critics who now regret voting for Pezeshkian or call for his resignation, arguing he lacks the power to change Iran's current worsening economic trajectory, have reminded him that in a campaign video, he pledged to step down if he failed to fulfill his promises.

These promises included the lifting of US sanctions through negotiations, lifting of the internet filtering, and stopping violence against women for hijab.

“I would resign this same day if I were Pezeshkian … I would say [to those who make the decisions]: take responsibility for the country yourself, and say goodbye [to them],” journalist Mostafa Danandeh tweeted.

During his campaign, Pezeshkian criticized the policy of limiting Iran's foreign relations to Eastern bloc countries—China and Russia—and stressed the need for broader engagement, including with the United States. He argued that addressing global challenges, particularly the crippling US sanctions on Iran’s international trade, required a more inclusive diplomatic approach.

In a mid-January interview with NBC, before President Donald Trump officially assumed office, the Iranian president said Tehran was ready for talks with the United States and European Union, emphasizing that Iran was committed to peace and de-escalation in the region and globally but insisted that Iran would not submit to force in any way.

On X, users rallied around the hashtag #Resignation_Pezeshkian, posting criticism of the worsening economic crisis. Many highlighted the impact of strict US sanctions reinstated last week, citing the national currency's further depreciation and rising inflation.

"Were the two years of single-digit inflation after the 2015 JCPOA [nuclear deal] not an achievement? Inflation is the country's primary issue. If tackling inflation, sanctions, filtering, and negotiations—the four main promises Pezeshkian made—has reached such a deadlock, his resignation would be an honorable course of action," argued Javad Aghaei, a psychologist with nearly 1,300 followers on X.

Some others, however, urged Pezeshkian to persevere because his resignation could only make things worse for the Iranian people.

Ghorbanali Salavatian, an Iran-Iraq War veteran and cultural figure with over 50,000 followers on X, wrote in a post on Sunday that he would have urged Pezeshkian to resign and let his ultra-hardliner rival, Saeed Jalili, take the helm if he did not love Iran. "But since we know the disaster that would follow, and because we love Iran and its people, I urge you, Mr. Pezeshkian, to stay and fight for Iran and its people."

On Saturday, the first day of the work week, the Iranian currency, rial, plunged to almost 900,000 per US dollar in reaction to Khamenei’s rejection of talks. Early reports on Sunday indicated a continued decline, with the dollar trading at 910,000. Over the past year, the currency’s collapse has increased consumer goods prices by approximately 50%.

Hardliners and ultra-hardliners insist that Khamenei’s Friday speech, delivered after Trump reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran, although he also said that he preferred a deal with Iran, was the Supreme Leader’s “final word”.

Some supporters of direct US-Iran negotiations, however, have interpreted Khamenei’s statements not as rejection of talks but as a “tactic” and emphasizing the need for clear outcomes, such as the lifting of sanctions, rather than engaging in futile negotiations.