Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has rejected calls to respond in kind to U.S. President Donald Trump's recent insults, saying Iran will defend its interests without resorting to inflammatory rhetoric.
Speaking on Thursday, Pezeshkian dismissed demands from critics for Iranian officials to retaliate verbally after Trump described Iran's leaders as "liars," "scum," and "vicious, violent, sick people" during remarks at a NATO summit in Ankara.
"We will not learn this kind of policy from someone whose hands are stained with the blood of children," Pezeshkian said, in an apparent reference to a U.S. strike on an Iranian school that Tehran says killed more than 100 children.
He added that Iran would remain firm in protecting its national rights.
"Someone who cannot speak or express his thoughts without insulting... We firmly defend our rights," the president said.
The exchange highlights continuing tensions between Washington and Tehran despite recent diplomatic efforts to reduce hostilities following a ceasefire.
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