Iran's president told state television that Washington wrecked negotiations on an interim agreement but said Tehran should still try to conclude it, as the Wall Street Journal reported Donald Trump is leaning toward renewed military action.
Three days before Israelis go to the polls, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States on Saturday of sinking negotiations on an interim agreement. Speaking on Iranian state television, he also argued that Tehran should still try to complete the agreement.
"We were having negotiations, the cowards [Americans] messed everything up. I still think we should go and conclude it," Pezeshkian said, according to Reuters.
Pezeshkian's appeal came as the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump was leaning toward renewed military action against Iran. The president had not yet made a final decision.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a much harsher tone on the same evening. In a new campaign video, he claimed: "Iran has restarted its nuclear program, and it wants to destroy us within a short time." He described the last days of the campaign as "a fateful week" and claimed that all of Israel's enemies want him to lose.
Israel has pushed in recent days for renewed military action against Iran, possibly even before the election. According to the Financial Times, Netanyahu intended to launch a large-scale strike over the weekend of October 10, but Trump stopped it because he did not want fighting to resume ahead of the US midterm elections. Netanyahu dismissed the account as biased and untrue.
Saturday's remarks mark a softer line from Pezeshkian. As JFeed reported on October 21, he ruled out talks with Washington until the blockade on Iranian shipping was lifted, telling Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a phone call that Tehran would not take part in "forced negotiations."
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