Iran rejects nuclear weapon pursuit amid renewed US pressure

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated on February 6 that Iran is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a new agreement to prevent Tehran from obtaining such capability.

“We are not seeking nuclear weapons,” Pezeshkian stated during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran, adding that “verifying this issue is an easy task”, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

His remarks followed Trump's call on February 5 for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, stressing that the country “cannot have a Nuclear Weapon.”

The renewed U.S. stance came as Washington reinstated its “maximum pressure” policy against Iran over allegations that it was pursuing nuclear weapons capability. The policy, which was implemented during Trump’s first term before he left office in 2021, led to Washington’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement that imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tehran adhered to the JCPOA for a year after the U.S. exit but gradually rolled back its commitments as Washington intensified economic sanctions. Efforts to revive the agreement in recent years have largely stalled.

During his televised remarks on February 6, Pezeshkian invoked a long-standing fatwa, or religious edict, issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which prohibits the development of atomic weapons.

“Massacring innocent people is not acceptable in the doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pezeshkian asserted, reaffirming Tehran’s stance against nuclear armament.

Iran has strongly condemned the reimplementation of the “maximum pressure” strategy, arguing that it has historically failed and will continue to do so.

By Vugar Khalilov