Iran denies nuclear ambitions, says ready for talks

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Friday that Tehran sought nuclear weapons, expressed readiness for dialogue and condemned US 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 US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines.

The two met on the sidelines of a UN 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 US 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 neighbouring 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 US sanctions regime, while Kobakhidze insisted Tbilisi was not imposing its own bilateral sanctions on Tehran.