What did Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian say about Iran’s nuclear program and negotiations?

Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and rejected claims that Tehran has such ambitions as malicious propaganda. He also said Iran has always been ready for dialogue but would not accept coercion.

Why did Masoud Pezeshkian criticize U.S. sanctions during his meeting with Irakli Kobakhidze?

Pezeshkian condemned the sanctions as unjustifiable and inhumane after U.S. measures targeted Iranian airlines and Georgia subsequently cut aviation links between the two countries. He argued that pressure should not force Iran to surrender.

What areas of cooperation did Iran and Georgia discuss in Yerevan?

Pezeshkian called for a clear timetable to expand cooperation between Tehran and Tbilisi. The leaders also discussed bilateral ties and regional security, while Kobakhidze stressed dialogue and diplomacy as means to achieve de-escalation and lasting peace.

Iran denies nuclear ambitions, says ready for talks

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Summary

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Friday in Yerevan that Tehran seeks nuclear weapons and said Iran remains ready for dialogue. During talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian condemned U.S. sanctions and urged closer Iran-Georgia ties. He also called for a clear timetable to expand cooperation, while the leaders discussed bilateral relations, regional security, dialogue and de-escalation.

Key Facts

The meeting took place on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia.
Pezeshkian described U.S. sanctions against Tehran as unjustifiable and inhumane.
Georgia cut aviation links with Iran weeks earlier after U.S. sanctions targeted Iranian airlines.
Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency said in September that it would comply with the U.S. sanctions regime.
Kobakhidze’s office said the leaders discussed bilateral ties and regional security, while emphasizing dialogue and diplomacy for de-escalation and lasting peace.

By AFP

Published Oct 17, 2026 1:33 am KST
Updated Oct 17, 2026 11:32 am KST

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during the leaders' summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Friday. AFP-Yonhap

TBILISI — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Friday that Tehran sought nuclear weapons, expressed readiness for dialogue and condemned U.S. sanctions during talks with Georgia's prime minister.

In his meeting with Georgian premier Irakli Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for closer ties with Georgia, weeks after Tbilisi cut aviation links between the two countries following U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian airlines.

The two met on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity summit in Armenia's capital Yerevan.

"Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, and we consider the malicious propaganda against our country to be lies," Pezeshkian said, according to a statement from his office.

"We have always been ready for dialogue. They think they can force us to surrender, but we will not bow to coercion," he added, calling U.S. sanctions against Tehran "unjustifiable and inhumane."

In his meeting with Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for a clear timetable to expand cooperation between Tehran and Tbilisi, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported.

The report quoted Kobakhidze as saying he opposed foreign interference in neighboring countries' internal affairs, but his office made no mention of those remarks in its own account of the meeting.

It said the leaders had discussed bilateral ties and regional security, with Kobakhidze stressing the "importance of dialogue and diplomacy to achieve de-escalation and lasting peace."

Georgia's Civil Aviation Agency said in September it would comply with the U.S. sanctions regime, while Kobakhidze insisted Tbilisi was not imposing its own bilateral sanctions on Tehran.

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