The Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency released a trailer of an interview with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the 4th. In the interview, Ahmadinejad reiterated that he would not resign. Previously, a cleric in Iran who has a relative connection to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Ahmadinejad had threatened to resign "28 times".
According to Xinhua News Agency, Pesarizyyan said in an interview program that 'if I were to resign, I would announce it officially. I will not resign; I will continue to serve in my position.'
He stated that some people claim that the Iranian government and the supreme leader disagree, and their goal is to create divisions. The government and military forces are “fully coordinated, and we will not hand over positions to incompetent people.”
Iran's Deputy Head of Press and Communications Affairs, Mehdi Tabataibi, also denied reports of Pesezhiyan's resignation on social media on the same day, calling those claims "complete lies", and stating that those spreading rumors "have become puppets of Iran's enemies, deserving of contempt".
According to Iran International Television, based in London, England, on the 3rd, Mohammad-Bagher Hashemi Rahbani, a high-ranking cleric and relative of the Muqtada al-Madani, said in a video that Pezeshkian had previously threatened to resign '28 times'. However, after being warned by the supreme leader that 'next time resignation would be accepted', Pezeshkian 'didn't dare any longer, and they all backed down.'
"Iran International Television" is a privately owned overseas media outlet, launching in London in 2017 with Persian as its primary language, also offering English and Arabic content. It primarily caters to Iranian domestic audiences and diaspora communities abroad. The media claims to be independent and unbiased, however it has long been labelled "hostile media" by the Iranian government, focusing its reporting on critical voices of the Iranian government, while its funding background also raises controversy.
At the end of May this year, the “Iran International Television” reported that Pezeshijian had submitted a formal resignation letter to the office of the supreme leader, stating that his government was excluded from making major decisions, and that a hard-line Revolutionary Guard faction had taken control of national affairs.
Recently, in response to rumors of Pezeshian's resignation, the Iranian President's office has repeatedly denied these rumors.
