Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held impromptu phone calls with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer late on August 12 as unconfirmed reports suggest Iran could potentially hit Israel in the next few hours.
The call, which took place on 12 August 2024, covered “various topics including regional stability and the ongoing conflict in Gaza”, according to Iran’s official presidential site.
Pezeshkian stressed Iran's commitment to “maintaining and enhancing regional and global peace, stability, and security” as core policies.
He criticised Israel's actions in Gaza, calling on European nations, particularly Germany, to play a more active role in ending the conflict, hours after Berlin, London and Paris announced a joint statement for Iran not to strike the Jewish state.
"The expectation of people worldwide from European countries, especially Germany, is to play an effective role in ending the Zionists' genocide in Gaza, rather than supporting and backing this regime," the Iranian president stated.
Addressing international relations, Pezeshkian affirmed Iran's adherence to international laws and regulations.
He added, "While welcoming the development of interactions with all countries and emphasising problem-solving through negotiation, Iran will never submit to pressure, sanctions, bullying, or aggression."
For his part, Chancellor Scholz congratulated Pezeshkian on his election as president and expressed Germany's readiness to enhance relations with Iran across various fields.
He stressed "the necessity for an immediate cessation of war and violence in Gaza and the establishment of a ceasefire in this region."
The conversation marks a potential shift in Iran-European relations, with both sides expressing interest in dialogue and cooperation amidst ongoing regional tensions.
British media later reported that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also held his first phone call with Pezeshkian urging restraint from the Islamic Republic.
Pictures shared by 10 Downing Steet showed Starmer speaking on the phone with others listening to speaker.
According to Sky News reports, the phone call lasted 30-minutes between the Iranian president and British prime minister and would be the first point of contact between the countries.
The Iranian presidential website has not yet published details of the Starmer call.
EveryConnection on August 14th, 2024 at 01:38 UTC »
Could the Iranian President do this if the Ayatollah and IRGC didn't want him to? Surely Iran finds this obvious internal division being broadcast to the outside world embarassing, unless they're just attempting to extract concessions from Europe and the US in exchange for reducing the scope of their attack and it's largely a charade or a good cop/bad cop game.
This whole sequence of events probably harms Iran's credibility as a foreign patron for various non-state militant groups, but they don't really have anywhere else to go so they're stuck with being allied to Iran anyway.
Alarmed_Mistake_9999 on August 13rd, 2024 at 15:49 UTC »
Submission Statement: This call could be a sign of Pezeshkian's desperation, considering how powerless he is to stop an escalation he clearly does not want. Ultimately, it will take more than an election to take away the power of Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard, also known as Iran's deep state.