Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated in a video published by several Iranian news agencies that he has no intention of resigning, putting an end to weeks of speculation regarding his political future.
In the video, Pezeshkian said that if he decided to resign, he would announce it officially.
“For now, I will stand firm in my position,” he said.
He also denied suggestions of a rift between himself and Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, stating: “They want to create the impression that there is a rift. The Leader says one thing, and they claim that I am saying something else.”
The video, entitled ‘The People’s Report’, is expected to be released in full in the coming days.
Following reports of the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a result of US-Israeli strikes on 28 February and the announcement that his son would succeed him, unconfirmed reports have been circulating that Pezeshkian is preparing to resign.
Most recently, Mohammad Bakir Kharazi, secretary-general of the ‘Hezbollah Iran’ party and son-in-law of Masoud Khamenei, another son of Ali Khamenei, stated that Mojtaba Khamenei had ‘officially and publicly warned’ that if Pezeshkian were to tender his resignation, it would be accepted.
Kharazi did not specify when or to whom the Supreme Leader had allegedly issued this warning.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since being announced as his father’s successor. Apart from a few written statements attributed to him, no verified video or audio recordings of his speeches have been released.