Pezeshkian meets journalists ABC’s Martha Raddatz account

Sep 24

ABC’s Martha Raddatz reports questions put to Pezeshkian by a small group of journalists. He offers trust-building and inspections while rejecting surrender, claims regional U.S. bases are unusable and gives his account of meeting the injured supreme leader. The report notes rising U.S. fuel prices and the leader’s continued public absence. Raddatz says she sees no sign of a closer deal; Pezeshkian’s assertions are attributed.

Meeting a small group of journalists in New York on September 24, including Martha Raddatz, Masoud Pezeshkian describes deep mistrust of the United States but says Iran is ready for a trust-building relationship, does not want a nuclear weapon and is willing to admit inspectors. He says U.S. military power cannot force Iran to surrender and alleges that most regional U.S. bases are unusable. He also says he met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei twice and saw no major health problems. ABC notes the leader has not appeared publicly since the initial strike. Raddatz sees no indication in the room that a U.S.–Iran deal is closer, despite Pezeshkian's stated wish to end the war. These are his assertions and the correspondent's assessment; no agreement, verified base-damage assessment or independently established health update is reported. IRINN airs his account of repeated negotiations followed by bombing, an understanding signed by both presidents and renewed war less than two weeks later. He argues that trust requires compliance with commitments and blames Washington for their breakdown. Its edited selection emphasizes mistrust; ABC's trust-building offer and Raddatz's lack-of-breakthrough assessment remain part of the same meeting's record.