Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian capped off a tricky week at the United Nations navigating between hardliners at home and a gambit to ease sanctions by engaging the West with a gala dinner he abruptly left, attendees said.
The gathering of approximately 100 Iranians at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in New York on Wednesday included prominent professionals in the diaspora community and top public figures advocating for normalization with the Islamic Republic.
Pezeshkian delivered a brief speech before departing the hotel with his delegation for the airport. Although due to host the dinner, the president did not dine with the attendees and the reason for his departure was not immediately clear.
Underscoring the pressure the new president faces on hot-button issues, at least one attendee invited to speak pressed the president on the harshness of hijab enforcement in the country.
Pezeshkian attempted to parry the subject by citing alleged Western hypocrisy at highlighting the issue while downplaying Israel's actions in the region.
"Why do they not react to the massacre of 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza?" the president said, according to news outlet Iranwire.
Javad Zarif, typically affable with guests, entered the dinner alongside security personnel but left immediately after without engaging with attendees, the outlet added.
Also attending an evening meeting ahead of the dinner were several prominent advocates of the now voided Iran nuclear deal which had lifted some sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran's enrichment activities.
These included Ali Vaez, head of the Iran program at the International Crisis Group; Hooman Majd, Iranian-American journalist; Trita Parsi, founder of the National Iranian American Council; Negar Mortazavi, Iranian-American journalist; and Mohsen Milani, University of Florida professor, who generally departed before the dinner.
According to Iran International reporters at the scene, many guests of the evening events hosted by the Iranian delegation shielded their faces upon entering the hotel.
Farewell to arms
Central to the president's dilemma were comments he made in a closed door meeting with media professionals on Monday in which he said the Islamic Republic was willing to lay down its arms if its Israeli foe did the same.
"We are prepared to give up all our weapons, provided Israel also disarms, and an international organization steps in to ensure security in the region. We don't even need them—we know how to secure our own safety," Pezeshkian said.
A press conference due to follow was abruptly cancelled without any reason provided.
Aides denied the reported comments but a recording obtained by Iran International confirmed them, earning blistering criticism in Iran.
The hardline Kayhan newspaper, widely seen as a reflection of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's thinking on key issues, lambasted the remarks as violations of the Islamic Republic's founding principles.
In another major embarrassment which earned the ire of conservatives, Lior Sternfeld, a professor at Pennsylvania State University who holds Israeli nationality, said he met and spoke personally to the president at an interfaith meeting early in the week.