Pezeshkian: Iran Not Seeking Nuclear Missiles, but Will Defend Honor 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is ready to assure the international community that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, as a preliminary agreement between Iran and the United States appeared to move closer.

“We are not seeking unrest in the region,” Pezeshkian told Iran’s IRNA news agency, while accusing Israel of being “the one seeking to destabilize the region.”

The remarks came as Washington and Tehran continue indirect negotiations over a possible memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the framework for further talks. The sides have offered conflicting accounts of whether the emerging deal includes Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian officials have said nuclear issues are not part of the current phase and will be addressed only in later negotiations. US officials have said President Donald Trump remains committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, dismantling its nuclear program and removing enriched uranium from Iranian territory.

Iran has repeatedly denied seeking nuclear weapons. But it holds a stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to a level that the UN atomic agency has said has no civilian use and is only a short technical step from weapons-grade. Israeli officials have said the material would be sufficient for 11 nuclear bombs if enriched further.

Pezeshkian said Iran’s negotiating team would not compromise on national dignity.

“Our negotiating team will not compromise the country’s honor and pride in any way,” he said.

The comments followed Iranian pushback against reports that Tehran had agreed to ship out its highly enriched uranium stockpile. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that no such agreement had been reached and that the nuclear file was not included in the preliminary deal.