Pezeshkian denies Iran seeks nuclear weapons at UNGA

Pezeshkian denies Iran seeks nuclear weapons at UNGA

The Iranian president cast Tehran as the victim of U.S. and Israeli aggression

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian cast Tehran as a peaceful victim of American and Israeli aggression during an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, expressing a readiness for further negotiations while downplaying Iran’s state sponsorship of terror, nuclear escalation and regional strikes.

Addressing the assembly a day after President Donald Trump threatened to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached, Pezeshkian claimed Tehran has never sought nuclear weapons and painted its atomic program as strictly intended for energy and medical research.

“Iran does not accept for nuclear technology to be at the exclusive disposal of some of a handful. We say it clearly: no nuclear weapons and no limitations to peaceful nuclear technology,” he said.

Pezeshkian’s portrayal of a purely civilian nuclear program contradicts assessments from the International Atomic Energy Agency and U.S. intelligence, which have repeatedly warned that Iran has enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade purity — a...