Iran stresses commitment to nuclear nonproliferation

TEHERAN — Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that his country was not seeking a nuclear weapon, a day after US President Donald Trump made some remarks on the matter.

"We are not seeking nuclear weapons," said Pezeshkian in a meeting with foreign diplomats in Teheran, adding that "verifying this issue is an easy task".

Trump on Tuesday said that he wants "Iran to be a great and successful country, but one that cannot have a nuclear weapon". He made the point in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had earlier responded by stressing that Iran has not built and will not build nuclear weapons.

"If the main issue is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter," Araghchi said on Wednesday. Iran is also a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT.

"In addition to being a party in good standing to the NPT and other global nonproliferation instruments, Iran has already made abundantly clear that 'under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons," Araghchi wrote on Wednesday on his X account.

The "maximum pressure" policy of Trump is a failed experiment, and it will only yet again compel "maximum resistance", Araghchi was cited by Mehr News Agency.

On May 8, 2018, the US under Trump announced its withdrawal from the six-party Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, namely the Iran nuclear deal.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Wednesday that Iran has never sought to obtain nuclear weapons. "Our approach is clear, Iran's peaceful energy program is within the framework of the NPT," he further underlined.

Meanwhile, Iran inaugurated its first drone-carrier warship, saying the vessel is capable of operating in oceans far from its mainland, the official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.

The report stated the vessel, manned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' navy, can carry several squadrons of drones as well as helicopters and cruise missiles. Named Shahid Bagheri, it is capable of launching cruise missiles, IRNA said.

Chief of the Guard, Hossein Salami, said at the ceremony that the warship can travel "independently "in seas for up to one year.

Iran needs to increase its deterrence capacity to prevent war, he said, stressing that Iran does not wish to wage war with any country.

Mike Gu in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

Agencies - Xinhua