Fox News ran an exclusive sit-down with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on The Story with Martha MacCallum where he spent much of the interview insisting Tehran is not the monster Washington and Jerusalem portray. Pezeshkian pushed back on accusations that Iran directs terrorism across the region and sought to rebrand parts of the regime as pragmatic and reform-minded, a sales pitch aimed squarely at Western audiences.
That polish comes against the backdrop of his recent trip to the United Nations, where Pezeshkian blasted the United States and Israel for what he called attacks on peace while European powers moved to trigger a sanctions “snapback” over Iran’s nuclear activities. The timing is hardly accidental: Tehran is jockeying for sympathy and breathing room as the international community prepares to reimpose restrictions that could include arms and enrichment limits.
Americans with memory remember that Tehran’s denials are part public relations and part deception; Iran has long funded Hamas, Hezbollah and other proxies that butcher civilians and destabilize entire regions. For a Western audience, Pezeshkian’s smooth talk about peace must be measured against a record of state-sponsored terror and proxy warfare that no glossy interview can erase.
We also learned from past encounters that Tehran knows how to game Western media appearances to its advantage — a recent high-profile interview with another U.S. host was quickly amplified by Iranian state outlets to wash away inconvenient facts. That pattern should make any patriot skeptical when Iran’s leaders suddenly discover a conscience about women’s rights or nuclear restraint; propaganda can be dressed up as moderation, and we should call it out.
Make no mistake: whatever soft words Pezeshkian uses to soothe the West, the real levers of power in Iran remain with the Supreme Leader and the IRGC, the true architects of regional malignancy. The United States and its friends must not be fooled into swapping pressure for platitudes; credibility is everything, and the safe bet for American security is sustained pressure, targeted sanctions, and unwavering support for Israel and the region’s pro-freedom voices.
Patriotic Americans should welcome any chance to hear directly from foreign leaders, but watching a regime talk its way out of accountability is not leadership — it is theater. Keep the pressure, stand with the brave Iranians who resist clerical tyranny, and demand that our government treat rhetoric with the skepticism it deserves until Tehran proves change through action, not interviews.
