Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned Friday that the Trump administration’s actions could destabilize the Middle East amid deteriorating relations with the United States.
“President Trump has said that his administration has come to create peace but the path that they have embarked upon will set fire to the entire region,” Pezeshkian said in an appearance on “NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas.”
His comments followed remarks he made Wednesday at the United Nations General Assembly, where the Iranian president accused the U.S. and Israel of inflicting a “grievous blow upon international trust and the very prospect of peace in the region.”
“The aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran’s cities, home, and infrastructures [came] precisely at a time when we were treading,” Pezeshkian said.
Israel deployed warplanes and drones targeting Iranian nuclear sites and key generals and scientists, starting a 12-day war between the two countries in June. The U.S. joined the conflict by bombing three nuclear sites in Iran, with Trump warning of further attacks if peace did not “come quickly.”
The war ended with hundreds of casualties for Iran, including the deaths of military leaders, scientists and civilians. Twenty-eight Israelis died over the course of the war. During his NBC appearance, Pezeshkian said he sustained a leg injury during the conflict, described as a “hematoma formed in the region of the knee.”
“We dropped the needed liquid and blood and after that, we got over it,” he said.
Pezeshkian’s visit to the U.S. signals Tehran’s attempt to engage in last-minute talks to stop the U.N. from imposing sanctions on the country over its nuclear program. The president told NBC host Tom Llamas that international nuclear inspectors were welcome to come to Iran, adding that he had agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to “come and inspect on the ground.”
If sanctions are reinstated, the action would deal a hard hit to Iran’s already struggling economy. The U.N. could potentially freeze Iranian assets abroad and penalize the development of its ballistic missile program, among other penalties.
