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The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, reiterated on Wednesday that the nation is not pursuing nuclear arms, following military actions by Israel and the United States earlier this year, and the upcoming sanctions imposed by European governments.
“I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished,” he said.
Iran has consistently maintained that it is not aiming for nuclear weapons, referencing a decree from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while US intelligence has not determined that the country has decided to develop a nuclear weapon. However, Israel, the United States, and European nations have remained doubtful due to Iran’s advanced nuclear capabilities, believing the country could swiftly seek a bomb if it wished.
Britain, France, and Germany have decided to reinstate UN sanctions that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated by the United States but later abandoned by US President Donald Trump. The sanctions are scheduled to take effect on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held discussions with his European counterparts on Tuesday, resulting in no significant progress, except for a mutual commitment to continue the dialogue. Pezeshkian accused the Europeans of acting in bad faith, asserting that Iran’s lack of cooperation was a reaction to Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement, and they disparaged Iran’s sincere efforts as insufficient,” Pezeshkian said.
“All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA which they themselves had once held as a foremost achievement.”
While addressing the General Assembly, Pezeshkian displayed images of individuals who lost their lives in the Israeli military action against Iran, which Tehran claims resulted in over 1,000 fatalities.
