TEHRAN -- President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed here Wednesday that Iran will neither back down nor compromise on its nuclear achievements under military threats by the United States.
Pezeshkian made the remarks during a ceremony to mark the National Nuclear Technology Day, stressing that the more U.S. threatens, the stronger Iran will stand.
“We seek peace and security, and we are open to dignified dialogue, but we will not back down on our achievements, nor will we compromise on them,” he said.
Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with U.S. officials in Oman on Saturday.
The talks follow a letter sent by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 7, urging Iran to resume nuclear negotiations for face possible military action.
President Pezeshkian said Iran does not seek war but remains strong against any possible aggression.
“We are not seeking war, but with the knowledge and power that our dear ones have created we will stand strong in the face of any aggression.
“The more they strike us, the stronger we will become; the more they threaten us, the firmer we will stand. We are not aggressors, and we are not going to attack anyone,” he said.
Pezeshkian underlined Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s declaration that Iran is “ready to negotiate, but not in direct negotiations because we do not trust” the Americans.
“How can they sanction all our resources and communications on one side and then ask us to engage in dialogue?” the president said.
Nevertheless, Iran has no objection to American investors doing business in the country.
“The Leader has no objection to the presence of American investors in the country,” he said. “We oppose their flawed policies, such as conspiracies and attempts at regime change.”
Iran has had no diplomatic relations with Washington since 1980. Tehran has long viewed Washington as being behind attempts to interfere in and destabilize Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which toppled the U.S.-backed Pahlavi dynasty.
Ties have remained frozen ever since, with any contacts made via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents American interests in the country, or through intermediaries such as Oman.
Since returning to the White House for a second term in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” sanctions policy against Iran.
During his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, known as the JCPOA, and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions on the country.
Tehran adhered to the 2015 deal for a year after Washington withdrew from it, but later began rolling back its own commitments.
“We lived up to our commitments under the JCPOA, but they were the ones who withdrew from it. We didn’t want to leave. They threatened us every day. When they threaten us, we will inevitably respond,” Pezeshkian said Wednesday.
Addressing Western countries, the president also stressed that Iran does not want to produce nuclear bombs.
“Who is more authoritative than Leader of the Islamic Revolution, who has officially and publicly declared that we are not seeking to build nuclear bombs?
“You’ve verified it a hundred times, and you can verify it a thousand times more, but know this: we need nuclear science and nuclear energy in all fields.”
Pezeshkian said, “I am confident that we will be able to continue our path with strength, and with the dialogues that will take place, we will also solve these problems.”
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran’s talks in Oman on Saturday are an opportunity to test the seriousness of the United States which has a record of dealing in bad faith.
Addressing a group of intellectuals, scholars and media figures in Algiers where he was for an official visit on Tuesday, Araghchi stressed that the sole topic of the negotiations is the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Tehran.
“The upcoming talks in Muscat are a new opportunity for diplomacy and a test to gauge the seriousness of the United States, which has a long history of non-commitment and unilateralism,” he said.
“The nuclear issue, in the sense of providing clarity and assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of oppressive sanctions, is the only issue for discussion.”
Separately, in an op-ed published in The Washington Post, Araghchi touched on the regular exchange of messages between Iran and the U.S., dismissing assumptions that they were symbolic.
“We view them as representing a genuine attempt to clarify positions and open a window toward diplomacy,” he said, adding “Iran is ready to engage in earnest and with a view to seal a deal”.
He said pursuing “indirect talks” is a strategic decision based on experience, not ideology, driven by deep mistrust and skepticism—intensified by the U.S. push to revive its so-called “maximum pressure” policy before engaging diplomatically.
Araghchi touched on the U.S. military build-up in the region, warning that it could trigger a wider conflict while emphasizing Iran’s readiness to defend itself.
“To move forward today, we first need to agree that there can be no ‘military option,’ let alone a ‘military solution.’ President Trump clearly recognizes this reality in urging a ceasefire as the first course of action to end the Ukraine conflict,” he said.
Araghchi warned that expanding the U.S. military presence in the region risks American lives and undermines diplomacy, adding that “Iran, backed by a proud and resilient nation, will never yield to pressure or coercion”.
The foreign minister also touched on “a serious misconception” in Washington where many portray Iran as a closed country from an economic point of view.
“The truth is that we are open to welcoming businesses from around the world. It is the U.S. administrations and congressional impediments, not Iran, that have kept American enterprises away from the trillion-dollar opportunity that access to our economy represents,” he said.
“The ball is now in America’s court. If it seeks a genuine diplomatic resolution, we have already shown the way,” Araghchi said.
“If, instead, it seeks to impose its will through pressure, it must know this: The Iranian people respond decisively to the language of force and threat in a unified way. There is a chance for the United States to finally have a president of peace. Whether to seize that opportunity is a choice,” he added.