Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ruled out any ambition to develop a nuclear weapon and said Tehran is ready to allow international inspectors to verify its nuclear programme, including measures to dilute its enriched uranium stockpile.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
Speaking to Fox News on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian said Iran was prepared to accept international verification but insisted that the country’s nuclear programme was not aimed at developing a bomb.
“Not at all. Not at all. Our martyred, esteemed supreme leader had announced several times that from a religious decree, it is unholy. It is illegal,” Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian also said Iran was willing to reduce its enriched nuclear material and accept international monitoring.
“So that weapon's mass destruction. We said we’re willing to dilute them. It’s not a big deal. We are willing to submit ourselves to verification,” he told Fox News.
The comments come as Iran's nuclear programme remains under scrutiny from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA has said it has been unable to obtain information from Iran on the status of its declared nuclear material and facilities or conduct in-field verification at affected sites, leaving it unable to fully carry out its safeguards responsibilities.
The IAEA Board of Governors on September 9 also referred Iran's nuclear non-compliance issue to the United Nations Security Council, escalating the dispute over Tehran's safeguards obligations.
Pezeshkian also blamed the United States for the escalation, saying Washington chose military action instead of continuing negotiations.
“The problem is that America, instead of conducting dialogue, they descend into the arena by bombing us first, by blocking every pathway. They attacked us,” he said.
He reiterated that Iran's military response was defensive and said Tehran did not want to continue the conflict.
US President Donald Trump has maintained that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a central US objective, while also saying that Washington and Tehran are continuing to communicate.
On September 22, Trump said he believed the two sides would eventually reach a settlement, but stressed that Iran could not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. Reuters
