Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian flatly denied that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapon and said Iran is willing to dilute its enriched uranium and submit its nuclear program to international verification, offering a potential path to ease tensions that have fueled nearly seven months of war in the Middle East.
Asked directly whether Iran wants a nuclear bomb, Pezeshkian rejected the premise outright. He said the country's late supreme leader had repeatedly declared that weapons of mass destruction are forbidden under a religious decree and therefore illegal. His comments came during an exclusive interview Thursday.
The denial lands amid long-running international scrutiny of Iran's nuclear program, which has enriched uranium to levels well beyond those typically used for civilian power generation. That enrichment activity became President Donald Trump's central rationale for launching Operation Epic Fury in February.
Pezeshkian signaled that Tehran would be open to lowering its enrichment levels and allowing outside verification as part of an effort to reduce nuclear tensions. He described the question of diluting the material as manageable and said Iran is prepared to accept verification.
He also pointed to a memorandum of understanding he signed with Trump in June that was intended to halt hostilities and establish a framework for a broader U.S.-Iran agreement. The process was designed to include a 60-day window toward a final deal. Pezeshkian said an agreement was reached and signed, and that Iran remains willing to move forward on that basis.
According to Pezeshkian, the framework had been agreed upon and Iran had not closed the Strait of Hormuz, which he said remained open without legal justification for disruption. He accused Washington of attacking Iran, assassinating its supreme leader, scientists, military commanders and government officials, and then blocking every pathway to diplomacy.
«The problem is that America, instead of conducting dialog, they descend into the arena by bombing us first, by blocking every pathway. We are ready,» he said. He added that Iran would accept free access for inspectors to see whatever the country has, but not pressure, blockades or denial of access.
Pezeshkian placed broader blame on Washington for the war, saying Iran does not seek to kill Americans while accusing America of seeking to kill Iranians. He said Iran would defend itself if attacked.
Addressing U.S. military strikes, including Operation Outcast, and increasing secondary sanctions, Pezeshkian said Iran would continue resisting Washington's campaign. He acknowledged economic difficulties but said the country would endure hardship and remain. He also said Iran does not consider American elections relevant to its position, and that if the current U.S. government wishes to reach an agreement within international legal frameworks, Iran is ready.
Pezeshkian repeated that Iran does not want the war to continue, while blaming Israel for helping provoke the conflict and putting responsibility on Washington to bring it to an end. «We will stand resolutely to defend ourselves. We never sought war. We do not seek war,» he said, adding that Israeli instigations imposed the war on Iran and that America must choose whether to end it.
He also addressed reports that Iranian forces used Chinese satellite imagery to carry out a deadly strike on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. Pezeshkian denied direct knowledge of the purported images, saying he was specifically unaware of them and that what militaries do with one another between two countries is their own business within their own guidelines.