Iran’s president vows not to yield to US pressure to halt its nuclear program

TEHRAN, Iran/PALESTINE

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed Wednesday that his country will not yield to “American arrogance” regarding its nuclear program.

Speaking to the official IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian said negotiations with the US and Europe over the nuclear file are ongoing.

He emphasized that the talks are being conducted within the framework set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We will not bow to arrogance,” he said. “We will never accept the elimination of our nuclear research, only to then wait for their approval to access the nuclear materials we need for our industry, medicine, agriculture and other sciences.”

Criticizing US demands for Iran to halt uranium enrichment and nuclear research, Pezeshkian said defiantly: “Who said we need permission to conduct scientific research? Who are they to demand we dismantle our entire nuclear industry?”

US President Donald Trump said he is "less confident" compared to "a couple of months ago" about reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.

“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame, but I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago,” he said.

Asked if he believed he could persuade Iran to shut down its nuclear program, Trump said “I don’t know."

Whether there is a deal or not, Iran is "not going to have a nuclear weapon,” he noted.

A sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks is planned for Sunday in Oman's capital Muscat, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.

Iran and the US resumed nuclear diplomacy in April, with Oman acting as mediator. Since then, they have held five rounds in Muscat and Rome.

While both sides have acknowledged some progress, a decisive breakthrough has yet to be achieved.

Uranium enrichment has emerged as a key sticking point in the negotiations, with the US calling for its dismantling and Iran insisting the program will continue.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he does not expect talks with the US to yield results and asserted that Iran “needs no one’s permission” to enrich uranium.

Trump has threatened military action against Iran if a new nuclear agreement is not reached to replace the 2015 nuclear deal, from which Washington withdrew in 2018.