Iran does not seek war, Pezeshkian says
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the Islamic Republic does not seek conflict but faces external pressures from countries he accuses of fueling instability.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the Islamic Republic does not seek conflict but faces external pressures from countries he accuses of fueling instability.
“We are not seeking war… We seek peace and tranquility,” Pezeshkian said Monday, according to semi-official ISNA news agency.
He criticized Western nations for what he called hypocrisy in their human rights advocacy, referencing the civilian death toll in Gaza.
“They massacred more than 18,000 young people and buried 20,000 women under the rubble, yet they claim to champion human rights,” he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks Pezeshkian hailed the role of science in addressing Iran’s challenges, urging reliance on scholars and elites. “There are many paths, but our solution lies in science,” he noted.
He also warned that domestic divisions fuel external hostility, saying, “Unnecessary conflicts encourage the greed of our enemies.”
The president’s remarks come amid international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and its backing of armed groups across the Middle East.
It also comes after a statement from the G7 at the Munich Security Conference blamed Tehran for being the cause for regional instability.
“The G7 members unequivocally condemned Iran’s destabilizing actions, including its rapid advancement of uranium enrichment without credible civil justification, its facilitation of terrorism organizations and armed groups across the Middle East and Red Sea, its proliferation of ballistic missiles and drones, and its transnational repression and violation of fundamental human rights,” read the statement issued on Saturday.
Pezeshkian previously echoed similar calls for peace during a visit to Tajikistan last month, but has rejected nuclear negotiations with the United States in accordance with a directive by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The protests began Friday evening at Tehran University’s campus after Amir-Mohammad Khaleghi, an undergraduate business management student, was fatally stabbed by two men who stole his laptop just outside the campus.
On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of students gathered again at Tehran University and Tarbiat Modares University to protest. They submitted a list of demands to authorities, warning of further demonstrations if their concerns—including the removal of “plainclothes forces” from university campuses—were not addressed.
Students accuse authorities of neglecting their safety amid a rise in robberies near campus in recent years. Meanwhile, they criticize officials for prioritizing the surveillance of student activists and suppressing dissent instead of addressing security concerns.
During Friday’s peaceful protest, four students were arrested, and a female student was injured by one of the unidentified agents who stormed the campus. The detained students were later released.
The presidential administration took an unusually conciliatory approach, a departure from the Iranian government’s typical response. Rather than escalating force against the students, officials appeared willing to defuse tensions. This tactic can be related to current public anger at the deteriorating economic situation and the danger of widespread protests.
University official Hossein Hosseini met with the protesters and blamed the violence on vigilantes and plainclothes security agents who entered the campus without authorization.
Higher Education Minister Hossein Simaei Sarraf cut short an official visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to Iran after Friday’s protests. He later apologized to the students and pledged decisive action against unauthorized interference in university affairs.
“Certain individuals and groups are more focused on creating turmoil rather than resolving crises. These irresponsible actions, whose instigators and masterminds remain unknown, have placed a significant burden on the country,” Deputy Higher Education Minister Gholamreza Zarifian told the reformist Etemad Online, referring to the unrest triggered by Friday’s violence against students.
A law passed by Parliament in 2000, during the presidency of reformist Mohammad Khatami, prohibits police and other security forces from entering higher education institutions except under “extraordinary circumstances” and only with the university dean’s request and the Higher Education Minister’s approval.
This legislation followed the 1999 student protests, which began on July 7 at Tehran University. Students had initially gathered peacefully outside their dormitories to protest the closure of Salam, a reformist newspaper. Some later moved their protest outside the campus before returning to their dormitories without any incidents.
That night, riot police, the Revolutionary Guards’ Basij militia, and vigilante groups raided the student dormitories, attacking sleeping students indiscriminately. They destroyed rooms and personal belongings, and in a tragic incident, one student was thrown to his death from an upper floor. A similarly violent raid occurred at Tabriz University dormitories two days later.
Known as the Kuy-e Daneshgah Disaster, these events sparked days of protests and unrest in Tehran and other major cities. Demonstrators marched toward Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office in Tehran, chanting slogans against him.
Security forces responded with a brutal crackdown, killing at least three people, injuring over 200, and arresting hundreds more. Many detainees spent years in prison as a result of the protests.
The 1999 university unrest set a precedent for future anti-government protests in 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022. This history may partly explain the Iranian authorities' apparent reluctance to use force against university students.