Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that his country would "not yield to excessive demands" on its nuclear program, after Tehran resumed talks with the United States.
"Our country, Iran, will not yield to their excessive demands," he said in a speech at Azadi Square in the capital for the 47th anniversary of Iran's revolution.
"Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighboring countries in order to establish peace and tranquility in the region."
Iran marked the revolution anniversary as the country’s theocracy remains under pressure, both from US President Donald Trump who suggested sending another aircraft carrier group to the Middle East and a public angrily denouncing Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The commemoration represented a spit-screen view of life in Iran, with state television showing hundreds of thousands of people across the country attending pro-government rallies, which included the burning of American flags and cries of “Death to America!”
A top Iranian security official traveled Qatar on Wednesday after earlier visiting Oman, which has mediated this latest round of negotiations. Just before the official's arrival, Qatar's ruling emir received a phone call from Trump.
In his speech, Pezeshkian also insisted that his nation was “not seeking nuclear weapons. ... and are ready for any kind of verification.” However, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
“The high wall of mistrust that the United States and Europe have created through their past statements and actions does not allow these talks to reach a conclusion,” Pezeshkian said.
Tehran’s missile capabilities are a red line and “non-negotiable,” said Ali Shamkhani, adviser to Iran's supreme leader said at the commemoration.
Commemoration overshadowed by crackdown
On Iranian state TV, authorities broadcast images of people taking to the streets across the country Wednesday to support the theocracy and its 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
But on Tuesday night, as government-sponsored fireworks lit the darkened sky, witnesses heard shouts from people’s homes in the Iranian capital, Tehran, of “Death to the dictator!”
In the streets Wednesday, people waved images of Khamenei and Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags. Some chanted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others criticized Iran's exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, who had been calling for anti-government protests.
“I am here to say we don’t stop supporting our leader and our country as the Americans and Israelis are increasingly threatening" us, said Reza Jedi, a 43-year-old participant.
Among Iran's 85 million people, there is a hard-line element of support for Iran's theocracy, including members of the country's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which crucially put down the protests last month in a bloody suppression that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained, according to activists.
Also, many Iranians often take part in pro-theocracy demonstrations as they are government employees or turn up to enjoy the carnival atmosphere of a government-sponsored holiday. Iran has 2.5 million government employees, with a fifth in Tehran alone.
While not directly addressing the bloodshed by authorities, Pezeshkian acknowledged the crackdown that began in earnest on Jan. 8 had “caused great sorrow.”
“We are ashamed before the people, and we are obligated to assist all those who were harmed in these incidents,” he said. “We are not seeking confrontation with the people.”
However, he also criticized what he described as “Western propaganda” over the crackdown.
One man sadly watched the commemoration from a sidewalk in Tehran, not taking part.
“I regularly participated in the rally in past years,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “But how can I do that now as the streets' asphalt were bloodied last month?”
Larijani in Qatar
As the commemoration took place, senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani left Oman for Qatar, a Mideast nation that hosts a major US military installation and one that Iran attacked in June after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.
The state-run Qatar News Agency reported that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” without elaborating.
Speaking to the Russian state channel RT, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran still does “not have full trust for the Americans.”
“Last time we negotiated, last June we were in the middle of negotiation then they decided to attack us and that was a very very bad experience for us,” he said. “We need to make sure that that scenario is not repeated and this is mostly up to America.”
Despite that concern, Araghchi said it could be possible “to come to a better deal than Obama,” referencing the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers Iran reached when former US President Barack Obama was in office. Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from the accord.
