Iranian president attempts to reframe meaning of 'Death to America' chant during Tucker Carlson interview

WASHINGTON, DC: Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has told journalist Tucker Carlson that Iran’s infamous “death to America” chant shouldn’t be taken literally.

Pezeshkian told the former Fox News host and current podcaster that the slogan is more about pushing back on "bullying" than it is about wanting actual harm to come to Americans.

“When they say death to the United States ... they don't mean death for the people of the United States or even to the officials of the United States,” he insisted. “They mean death to crimes, death to killing and carnage, death to supporting, killing others, to insecurity and instability.”

Carlson then asked if Americans should feel threatened by the phrase or the label “the great Satan.” Pezeshkian responded by calling it a “very wrong impression.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not holding back on anti-American sentiments

Of course, not everyone in Iran is following that script. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has stuck to the old-school rhetoric. Back in 2022, he proudly declared, “Yes, it will happen. Death to America will happen.”

Just this May, right before nuclear talks with the US, Khamenei backed the chant again — even as tensions were heating up between Israel and Iran. As a crowd in Tehran chanted the familiar slogan, Khamenei told them, “Your judgment is right,” adding, “Americans support Israel's crimes.”

That same month, Israel launched a bombing campaign aimed at Iran’s missiles, nuclear sites, and nuclear scientists.

Tucker Carlson listens as Masoud Pezeshkian makes his case

Pezeshkian stuck to his narrative, telling Carlson that Iran isn’t out to harm anyone — especially not Americans. He even claimed that Iran has kept its hands clean for centuries.

“Have you ever heard [of] an Iranian killing an American? Have you heard that? Or a terrorist that was Iranian and he carried out a terrorist attack against the Americans?” he asked.

“And no, it was your president who confessed that the Americas created the ISIS in our region and they were responsible for this wrong image that is portrayed of religion of the Muslims in the world," he added.

Carlson listened in silence as the Iranian leader made his case.

But history — and US intelligence — tell a more complicated story. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, was behind the 1983 Beirut bombings that killed American Marines. More recently, US prosecutors said Iran backed a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump last year.

Still, Pezeshkian kept insisting that the controversial chant wasn’t meant for “the American people or officials.”

Senator Tom Cotton responds, Masoud Pezeshkian says Israel tried to kill him

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, wasn’t buying it for a second. He posted a pointed response on social media, blasting the Iranian president’s attempt to soften the image.

“They've killed more than 1,000 Americans. They fund terrorist groups all around the world. They tried to kill President Trump,” Cotton said flatly.

During his conversation with Carlson, Pezeshkian casually claimed that Israel tried to assassinate him. He suggested they had US backing.

“Yes, they did try and acted accordingly, but they failed,” he insisted. “It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting … they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he said, speaking in Farsi and offering no hard evidence.

It's no secret that Israel’s been busy. Just last month, it reportedly killed multiple Iranian nuclear scientists in targeted strikes.

White House continues to seek peace

Despite all this back-and-forth, the White House says it’s still trying to keep the diplomatic lines open. On Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the “administration continues to be in contact, both directly and indirectly, with Iranians.”

This was after Trump surprised many by saying he was working on a potential permanent deal with Iran, despite once claiming there was no need for one. That shift followed a 12-day ceasefire between Iran and Israel — a truce that came only after the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian nuclear targets.

“The president is always interested in peace and diplomacy,” Leavitt told reporters, while also bragging that the US attack “obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities."

Meanwhile, there’s been some drama between Trump and Carlson on the sidelines. Last month, Tucker unexpectedly criticized the President by saying he was “complicit” in Israel’s attacks on Iran.

But the tension didn’t last long. According to Trump, Carlson later “called and apologized” for those comments.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online