Pezeshkian: I support US talks, but Iran follows Khamenei’s lead

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that while he personally supports negotiations with the US, Tehran will not engage in talks with Washington as long as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei opposes them.

“I myself believed that it was better to have a dialogue. Then [Supreme Leader Khamenei] said that we will not negotiate with America. After that, I announced that we will not have a dialogue with America,” Pezeshkian said.

While reaffirming his belief in diplomacy, Pezeshkian made it clear that his administration will follow Khamenei’s position regarding the US “until the end.” In Iran, the supreme leader holds ultimate authority over state affairs, including foreign policy and the nuclear program. Khamenei, 85, has led the country since 1989.

“When the supreme leader sets a direction, we must adapt ourselves to it. In order to adapt, we must try to find a way,” Pezeshkian added.

He made the remarks during impeachment proceedings against Economy Minister Abdolnaser Hemmati, who was later removed by parliament over soaring inflation and a collapsing currency. Hemmati lost a confidence vote, with 182 of 273 lawmakers supporting his dismissal.

The impeachment comes amid renewed economic pressure from the US, with President Donald Trump reinstating his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran while simultaneously calling for negotiations.

However, last month, Khamenei rejected talks with Washington, arguing that they would not solve Iran’s problems and describing them as “neither smart nor honorable.”

Defending Hemmati before his removal, Pezeshkian told lawmakers: “We are in a full-scale (economic) war with the enemy… we must take a war formation.”

He also argued that Iran’s economic problems “cannot be blamed on one person.”

Pezeshkian, who took office in July, had pledged to revive the economy and ease Western sanctions through diplomacy.

Iran’s economy has been hit hard by international sanctions, particularly after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 during Trump’s first term. In 2015, the rial traded at 32,000 per dollar, but by the time Masoud Pezeshkian took office in July, it had plunged to 584,000 per dollar. Recently, the currency has fallen even further, with exchange shops in Tehran now trading 930,000 rials per dollar.

Under Iran’s constitution, Hemmati’s dismissal takes effect immediately, with a caretaker minister appointed until a replacement is selected.