Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied that Tehran seeks to acquire nuclear weapons and reaffirmed his willingness to engage in dialogue, while condemning US sanctions during talks with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of a United Nations biodiversity summit in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
Pezeshkian also called for closer ties with Georgia, weeks after Tbilisi suspended air links between the two countries following US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines.
“Iran does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons, and we consider the malicious propaganda against our country to be deceptive,” Pezeshkian said, according to a statement from the Iranian presidency.
“We have always been open to dialogue. They believe they can force us to surrender, but we will not submit to coercion,” he added, describing US sanctions against Tehran as “unjustified and inhumane”.
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Pezeshkian also called for a clear timetable to strengthen cooperation between Tehran and Tbilisi.
Kobakhidze reportedly said he opposed any foreign interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries, Tasnim reported. However, his office did not issue a statement containing similar remarks.
In September, Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency said the country would comply with the US sanctions regime. Kobakhidze, however, maintained that Tbilisi was not imposing its own bilateral sanctions against Tehran.
The post Iran Denies Nuclear Weapons Ambitions and Calls for Dialogue appeared first on Greek City Times.