Iranian president says Washington pledged not to attack Israel during previous nuclear negotiations

Washington - Saeed Erekat

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told prominent American media personality Tucker Carlson in an interview published Monday that the United States said it would not allow Israel to attack Iran during recent negotiations.

"During the negotiations and talks, we were told that as long as we didn't allow Israel, it wouldn't attack you, and we were going to hold the next round of talks very soon, but suddenly, in the middle of it, Israel blew up the negotiating table," Pezeshkian told Carlson through a translator.

Israel launched its war on Iran with airstrikes on June 13, two days before another round of negotiations between the United States and Iran was scheduled to take place. Pezeshkian's comments are consistent with recent reports that the United States and Israel engaged in a disinformation campaign ahead of the attack to keep Tehran on its guard. Just hours before the first Israeli strikes on Iran, President Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that he remained committed to a diplomatic solution with Iran. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the first Israeli warplanes were in the air when Trump made the post.

The newspaper's report indicated that the secret to the deception lies in the idea "implanted in the minds of the Iranians that Israel will not strike without US permission and participation," and that "as long as the US does not mobilize its forces and engage in negotiations, Israel can threaten to attack, and even mobilize its forces, within sight of Iran without losing the element of surprise."

Pezeshkian said Iran is ready to resume negotiations with the United States, but needs guarantees that there will be no attack during the next round of talks. “I am certain that we can very easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks,” the Iranian leader said. “There is a condition for resuming talks: How will we ever trust the United States again?” Pezeshkian also claimed that Israel attempted to assassinate him during the Twelve-Day War. “I was in a meeting... but thanks to the intelligence obtained by the spies, they tried to bomb the area where we were holding that meeting,” he said.

The Iranian leader affirmed that Tehran remains committed to the fatwa issued by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against the development of nuclear weapons. He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had implied to US presidents that Tehran wanted to acquire a nuclear bomb.

"This is wrong and contradicts the religious fatwa issued by His Eminence the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, pursuing a nuclear bomb is religiously forbidden," Pezeshkian said.