A Fresh Look at Tucker Carlson, the Controversial Media Figure, in an Interview with the President of Iran
Carlson Returns, This Time with Revelations from the President of Iran
Tucker Carlson, the American journalist known for his outspoken views and interviews with influential figures, is once again in the spotlight.
Previously the first Western journalist to interview Vladimir Putin after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this time he has turned to Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran.
This interview was the new Iranian president’s first with an American media outlet following the end of the military conflict between Iran and Israel.
The interview was published online on social media, where Pezeshkian claimed that Israel had attempted to assassinate him, stating, ‘They tried, but they did not succeed.’
These remarks came on the eve of a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump in the U.S. capital.
In the continuation of the conversation, Carlson asked the Iranian president whether Tehran was willing to negotiate and if it would halt its nuclear program in exchange for peace.
Pezeshkian replied, ‘We did not start the war, nor do we intend to continue it.’ He added that since 1984, Netanyahu has ingrained the mindset among American politicians that Iran seeks nuclear weapons, although, according to him, Iran has never pursued building a bomb.
Pezeshkian also announced Iran’s readiness to resume nuclear negotiations but emphasized that the related facilities are not in a condition to be utilized at present.
This interview, conducted with simultaneous translation, once again drew attention to Carlson, who was once a prominent American media figure but now operates mostly outside the mainstream media.
From Media to Debate: The Tumultuous Path of Tucker Carlson
Carlson was born in 1969 in California, the son of a journalist father and an artist mother, from a wealthy San Francisco family. His mother left the family when Tucker was only six years old. According to his biographer Chadwick Moore, his father raised his children with considerable freedom.
He graduated in 1991 from Trinity College in Connecticut with a degree in history. He took his first steps in media in the 1990s, writing for publications like New York Esquire and New Republic.
He then moved to television in the early 2000s, becoming an analyst on CNN and later a host of a nightly show on MSNBC. During this period, his conservative leanings intensified, viewing immigration as a serious threat, sometimes calling it an invasion.
With these stances, he became one of the influential voices among Republican nationalists.
In 2006, he participated in Dancing with the Stars, but his appearance was met with critical reactions. Four years later, he co-founded the conservative news website Daily Caller with his former college roommate Neil Patel, a site that served as a counterbalance to left-leaning American media.
His real success came in 2016, a few days after Donald Trump won the election, when Carlson launched his show, Tucker Carlson Tonight, during prime time.
The first episode drew nearly 4 million viewers, but with Bill O’Reilly’s dismissal from Fox News, a big opportunity arose, and Carlson took his place as the network’s new star.
With Trump’s rise to power in the White House, Carlson also became the angry voice of right-wingers. His show not only reflected extreme conservative tendencies but also largely determined the Republican Party’s path.
However, this fame came at a cost. On one hand, he faced accusations of promoting conspiracy theories and racism, including his tacit support for the replacement theory, which claims that immigration is deliberately designed to change the demographic makeup of the West.
On the other hand, his bizarre remarks—such as defending Putin, opposing the metric system, or advocating light therapy for men—led major companies to distance themselves from his program.
The Daily Caller website also faced criticism for publishing controversial content against Democrats and promoting discriminatory stereotypes, leading Carlson to officially part ways with it in 2020.
The Fall from Fox and Rebirth in the Online Space
In April 2023, Carlson’s collaboration with Fox News suddenly ended. Although the network provided no explanation, this dismissal came just days after Fox paid a $787 million settlement to Dominion for spreading false information about the U.S. presidential election. Leaked private messages revealed that Carlson did not believe Trump’s claims of fraud, even though he defended them on his shows.
Shortly afterward, he announced the launch of a new program on the social network X, claiming that the truth had been censored and audiences deceived. At the end of the same year, he launched the Tucker Carlson Network, a streaming network he described as independent of major corporations.
From Putin to Pezeshkian, the Path of Controversial Interviews Continues
Carlson once again shone in the media arena when he became the first Western journalist to interview Vladimir Putin after the start of the Ukraine war. In this interview, Putin discussed Russia’s history, made claims about Poland and Ukraine, and even made jabs at Carlson, including mentioning that Carlson once wanted to join the CIA but failed.
He then conducted a lengthy interview with Andrew Tate, the controversial internet figure arrested on charges of rape and human trafficking, followed by an interview with Kevin Spacey, the actor who had stepped away from the arts scene after facing ethical accusations.
In June 2025, when the United States was on the brink of military confrontation with Iran, Carlson interviewed Senator Ted Cruz and challenged him with questions about Iran. Cruz even lacked an accurate answer about Iran’s population, prompting Carlson to ask, ‘You don’t know the population of the country you want to attack?’
Carlson has stated that he sought to interview Netanyahu as well but did not achieve a result.