Iran says not seeking nuclear weapons ‘at orders of its leadership, religious authority’

ISTANBUL 

Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons at the orders of the country’s leadership and religious authority, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday.

“We are not seeking to manufacture nuclear weapons and will not pursue them at the orders of our leaders and our religious authority,” Pezeshkian told the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He said Israeli and US attacks on Iran in June represented “a grave betrayal of diplomacy.”

Tehran has also witnessed “the assassination of its scientists, the violation of state sovereignty, and the targeting of its leaders,” he added.

The Iranian president strongly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, labeling him a “criminal.” He stressed that external powers had failed to create division among Iranians.

“The Zionist (Israeli) regime and its backers are not satisfied with political normalization but seek to impose their presence through blatant force,” he said.

Pezeshkian said despite sanctions and a “media war” against Tehran, Iranians “have united behind their armed forces.”

“Our nation has stood together to defend sovereignty and support the military,” he said, denouncing what he called Israel’s “criminal aggression against Qatar.”

He cited “two years of genocide in Gaza, violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty, destruction in Syria, and killings in Yemen” as evidence of Israel’s destabilizing role in the region.

Tension escalated regarding Iran’s nuclear program after Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran on June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes, while the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. The 12-day conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.