Masoud Pezeshkian
Pezeshkian vowed to defend "every inch of our homeland" after Trump ordered precision strikes on Iranian military sites and reinstated a naval blockade on July 15, capping the collapse of the June peace deal he co-signed. He framed US behavior as "bullying rivals, creating obstacles and cheating."
Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to defend "every inch of our homeland" on July 15 after Trump ordered a seven-hour wave of precision strikes on Iranian missile, drone, and naval sites and reimposed a full naval blockade. The assault caps an escalation cycle that began when Iranian missiles struck two tankers in Omani waters, prompting Trump to declare the interim peace MoU "over" and US forces to hit roughly 170 targets across Iran. Pezeshkian framed US behavior as "bullying rivals, creating obstacles and cheating" and pledged to "continue the path of Iran's honour, progress and glory."
The collapse reverses the 14-point interim deal Pezeshkian co-signed with Trump in late June, which mandated a 60-day toll-free Hormuz reopening, IAEA monitoring authority, and a Middle East ceasefire. He had conditioned further progress on US adherence to the agreed text and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, warning that "statements outside the agreed text do not help advance the negotiations." He declared Iran's ballistic missile program non-negotiable and hailed a planned $6 billion release of frozen assets from Qatar as "a great victory," a claim the US and Qatar did not publicly confirm.
During Khamenei's funeral week, Pezeshkian turned mourning into a diplomatic venue. He met Russian envoy Medvedev on July 3 to push energy and transit cooperation via the North-South Corridor, hosted Armenian PM Pashinyan on July 3-4 to discuss regional stability, and took July 10-11 phone calls from Pakistani PM Sharif urging restraint and a return to the Islamabad MoU framework. At Khamenei's July 9 burial in Mashhad, he pledged to "continue the path of the martyr Imam." Separately, Erdoğan had called on June 22 to pledge Türkiye's support for a peaceful conclusion.
Domestically, Pezeshkian faces pressure from hardliners and the IRGC. A hardline eulogist directly threatened his life. Mojtaba Khamenei authorized the MoU only because Pezeshkian took personal responsibility for its outcome. IRGC commander Vahidi blocked his intelligence minister appointment, asserting wartime conditions require the Guard to manage key positions. Pezeshkian refused "to bend to the will of a minority" and defended the Doha track as "within the framework of the system's approved policies."
He told Iranians that "we are fighting and we must accept this hardship," as May inflation hit 77.2%, the highest since 1942, and the rial fell past 1.7 million to the dollar.
On their plate
Trump ordered a seven-hour wave of precision strikes on Iranian missile, drone, and naval sites on July 15 and reimposed a full naval blockade, after Iranian missiles struck two tankers in Omani waters. Pezeshkian vowed to "defend every inch of our homeland with our actions" and earlier rejected US rhetoric, saying Iran would "respond in action and protect what we believe in."
Trump declared the interim peace MoU "over" after Iran struck tankers in Hormuz and the US hit roughly 170 targets. Pezeshkian, the original signatory, framed US behavior as "bullying rivals, creating obstacles and cheating" and vowed to "continue the path of Iran's honour, progress and glory." The collapse reverses the 14-point deal co-signed in late June mandating a 60-day Hormuz reopening, IAEA monitoring, and a regional ceasefire.
Pezeshkian met Russian envoy Medvedev on July 3 to push energy and transit cooperation via the North-South Corridor and a platform for sanctioned states to de-dollarize. He hosted Armenian PM Pashinyan on July 3-4 to discuss regional stability. He took July 10-11 phone calls from Pakistani PM Sharif urging restraint and a return to the Islamabad MoU framework, and thanked Pakistani officials for attending Khamenei's funeral.
A hardline eulogist directly threatened Pezeshkian's life. Mojtaba Khamenei authorized the MoU only because Pezeshkian took personal responsibility for its outcome and instructed religious figures not to weaken the government's negotiating position. IRGC commander Vahidi blocked Pezeshkian's appointment of Hossein Dehghan as intelligence minister, asserting wartime conditions require the Guard to manage key leadership positions. Pezeshkian refused "to bend to the will of a minority."
Pezeshkian told Iranians that higher prices are inevitable under the wartime economy, saying "we are fighting and we must accept this hardship" and "we will definitely have higher prices." May inflation hit 77.2%, the highest since 1942, the rial fell past 1.7 million to the dollar, essential costs surged 113.8%, and one million jobs were lost.
Pezeshkian co-signed the 14-point interim MoU with Trump in late June, exchanging 60-day oil-export licenses and phased $12 billion asset release for Hormuz reopening, uranium dilution under IAEA oversight, and a Middle East ceasefire. He conditioned further progress on US adherence to the agreed text and Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, and declared Iran's ballistic missile program non-negotiable. He hailed the planned $6 billion asset release from Qatar as "a great victory," a claim the US and Qatar did not publicly confirm.
Key relationships
Co-signed the June interim peace MoU with Trump; now on opposite sides as Trump declared the deal 'over,' ordered precision strikes on July 15, and reimposed a naval blockade. Pezeshkian framed US behavior as 'bullying rivals, creating obstacles and cheating.'
Mojtaba authorized the MoU only because Pezeshkian took personal responsibility for its outcome, and instructed religious figures not to weaken the government's negotiating position. He was absent from all public funeral services.
Pakistani PM who urged restraint and return to the Islamabad MoU framework in July 10-11 phone calls with Pezeshkian, and attended Khamenei's funeral in Tehran, which Pezeshkian publicly thanked him for.
Armenian PM visited Tehran July 3-4 during Khamenei farewell; Pezeshkian discussed regional stability and cooperation, thanked Armenia for humanitarian support, and congratulated Pashinyan on his June 7 election victory.
Met Pezeshkian in Tehran on July 3 to expand energy and transit cooperation via the North-South Corridor and a platform for sanctioned states to coordinate and de-dollarize.
Called Pezeshkian on June 22 to pledge Türkiye's full support for a peaceful conclusion of the US-Iran peace process and warn against sabotage attempts; also pressed for stronger trade, financial, and energy cooperation with Tehran.
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