Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian came under fire Tuesday for calling for a resumption of negotiations with the United States, with conservative newspapers taking offense at what they called "too soft" language toward a country that bombed nuclear sites in June.
Pezeshkian, elected on the promise of resuming dialogue with the West to obtain a lifting of sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy, gave an interview to American host Tucker Carlson, a close friend of President Donald Trump.
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Funerals held for senior Iranian officials killed in Israeli strikes last month
(Photo: Reuters)
In the interview broadcast Monday, the Iranian president said his country had "no problem" resuming talks with the United States, despite a bombing campaign in June by Israel, with US support, against Iranian nuclear facilities.
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"Is it right to sit down again, unconditionally, at the same table as those who have already dropped bombs?" asks the daily Kayhan, known for its hostility towards the West and fierce opponent of nuclear talks.
The United States, which has been engaged in negotiations with Iran since April over its nuclear program, bombed the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz (central Iran) on June 22. The precise extent of the damage is unknown.
"Faced with an enemy whose hands are stained up to the elbows with the blood of our people (...), is there no other solution than to remain firm (...)?" writes Kayhan, whose director is appointed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the ultimate decision-maker for foreign policy.
According to a new report by state television, at least 1,060 people died in Iran during the 12-day war launched by surprise on June 13 by the Israeli army and joined by the United States.
The conservative daily Javan thus regrets the Iranian president's "somewhat too gentle and kind" remarks towards the United States. "The true meaning of a conversation with an American presenter is conveyed when the words show the audience's anger and total distrust of America," Javan argues.
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An Iranian man during the mass funerals of senior Iranians killed in the Israeli attacks on Iran
(Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP)
The reformist newspaper Ham Mihan, for its part, welcomed Massoud Pezeshkian's "positive approach."
"This interview should have been conducted a long time ago," the newspaper wrote, adding that "Iranian officials have unfortunately been absent from the international and American media space for a long time."