Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has faced criticism following live broadcast remarks in which he first stated that negotiations with Washington are preferable to war, and later downplayed the significance of the dispute over the Zangezur Corridor, according to the opposition outlet Iran International, as reported by haqqin.az.
“Do you want to go to war?” he said, apparently addressing Iranian hardliners. “Well, you wanted to, but they struck us. If we restore our nuclear facilities, they will attack them again. What can we do other than negotiate?”
Pezeshkian later clarified: “Of course, we will not do anything contrary to the will of the Supreme Leader.” However, this did not lessen the criticism.
The conservative daily Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, called his remarks an example of “ignorance” and accused some officials of being “obsessed with the war-versus-negotiations dichotomy.” The paper claimed that the United States and Israel were “begging Iran for a ceasefire.”
Later the same day, Pezeshkian stirred further debate when, in response to a state television question about the Zangezur Corridor, he said that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had convinced him the corridor project does not harm Iran’s interests. This contradicts the position of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Khamenei’s decade-old statement that the project harms Armenia and that Tehran intends to oppose it.
The president’s remarks were criticized by influential MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi and Khamenei adviser Ali Akbar Velayati. Opponents accused him of ignorance of the official line and questioned his political competence. Ultra-conservative media claimed Pezeshkian was echoing threats by U.S. President Donald Trump and undermining Iran’s right to enrich uranium. The daily Vatan Emrooz called his stance “retreat and capitulation,” while Javan, affiliated with the IRGC, criticized his defense of his statements by appealing to alignment with Khamenei.
On social media, propagandist Ali Akbar Raefipour called Pezeshkian’s remarks “delusion, nonsense, and a paradox.” Ultra-conservative academic Foad Izadi, educated in the United States, said such words increase the risk of new strikes on Iran because “American officials will conclude that attacking Iran will not be costly.”
Some commentators, however, supported Pezeshkian, calling his stance realistic under current tensions. They linked it to the recent return of veteran conservative Ali Larijani to the Supreme National Security Council as the Supreme Leader’s representative.
According to economist Sadegh Alhosseini, cited by the reformist portal Rouydad24, Larijani may have received Khamenei’s approval to engage in talks with Washington, and Pezeshkian may be seeking to reduce the political cost of such an initiative domestically.
