Iran insists not seeking nuclear weapon ahead of US talks
The Straits Times
Tehran has always insisted its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. Read more at straitstimes.com.
GENEVA – Iran’s President said the Islamic republic was not “at all” seeking a nuclear weapon as talks with the United States were due to begin in Switzerland on Feb 26 in a last-ditch bid to avert war.
The talks mediated by Oman follow a massive US military build-up in the region not seen in decades, with US President Donald Trump threatening to strike Iran if a deal is not reached.
“Our Supreme Leader has already stated that we will not have nuclear weapons at all,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said, in a reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
While Iran has insisted the talks focus solely on its nuclear programme, the US wants Tehran’s missile programme and its support for militant groups in the region curtailed.
The developments follow a massive protest movement that rights groups say saw the killing of thousands of demonstrators calling for the end of the Islamic republic.
In his State of the Union address on Feb 24, Mr Trump accused Iran of “pursuing sinister nuclear ambitions”, though Tehran has always insisted its programme is for civilian purposes.
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