Iran’s president accused President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and European leaders Saturday of provoking unrest and trying to “tear this country apart,” a report said.
Masoud Pezeshkian told state television that Trump, Netanyahu and European leaders “rode on our problems, provoked, and were seeking — and still seek — to fragment society,” according to Reuters.
“They brought them into the streets and wanted, as they said, to tear this country apart, to sow conflict and hatred among the people and create division,” Pezeshkian reportedly added about the anti-government protests and deadly crackdown that recently swept through Iran. “Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest.”
The White House did not immediately respond Saturday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency recently reported that the violence in Iran has killed at least 6,479 people in recent weeks, with many more feared dead. Its count included at least 6,092 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 118 children and 55 civilians who were not demonstrating. More than 47,200 have been arrested, it added.
As of Jan. 21, Iran’s government put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces and labeling the rest “terrorists.”
Pezeshkian’s comments come after Trump said Friday that the United States has directly communicated expectations to Iran as pressure mounts for Tehran to accept a nuclear deal.
SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ACTIVITY AT IRAN NUCLEAR SITES BOMBED BY US, ISRAEL
Asked whether Iran faces a deadline to make a deal, Trump suggested in the Oval Office Friday the timeline had been conveyed privately.
“Only they know for sure,” he said when pressed about whether the message had been delivered directly to Iranian leaders.
As Trump weighs his options on a possible military strike on Iran, a senior Gulf official also told Fox News Saudi Arabia will not allow the U.S. to use its airspace or bases for such an attack.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips, Peter Pinedo, Jacqui Heinrich and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
