Iran expresses readiness for dialogue and rejects 'misleading propaganda' on nuclear issue

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied his country's pursuit of nuclear weapons and expressed readiness for dialogue during a meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia on the sidelines of the UN Biodiversity Summit in Yerevan. He described US sanctions as unjustified and inhumane.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied on Friday, during talks with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and expressed readiness for dialogue, condemning US sanctions. According to a statement from his office, Pezeshkian said, 'Iran does not seek to possess nuclear weapons, and we consider the misleading propaganda against our country to be sheer lies.' He added, 'We have always been ready for dialogue. They think they can force us to surrender, but we will not bow to coercion,' describing the US sanctions imposed on Tehran as 'unjustified and inhumane.' The two officials met on the sidelines of the UN Biodiversity Summit in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. During his meeting with Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for a clear timeline to expand cooperation between Tehran and Tbilisi, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency. The agency quoted Kobakhidze as saying he opposes foreign interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, but his office did not refer to those remarks in its statement about the meeting. The statement said the officials discussed bilateral relations and regional security, with Kobakhidze emphasizing 'the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for de-escalation and establishing lasting peace.' Georgia's Civil Aviation Agency had announced in September cutting air links between the two countries in response to US sanctions on Iranian airlines.