Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday doubled down on Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear program and said Iran is ‘fully prepared’ for a renewed fight with Israel.
The Iranian president’s comments came just two days after Tehran’s foreign minister confirmed to Fox News that Iran will not give up its enrichment program, but continues to claim Tehran is not interested in developing a nuclear weapon.
‘[US President Donald] Trump says that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and we accept this because we reject nuclear weapons and this is our political, religious, humanitarian and strategic position,’ Pezeshkian said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
‘We believe in diplomacy, so any future negotiations must be according to a win-win logic, and we will not accept threats and dictates,’ he added.
Pezeshkian also said Trump’s repeated claims that the U.S. ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program is ‘just an illusion.’
‘Our nuclear capabilities are in the minds of our scientists and not in the facilities,’ he said.
The U.S. strikes – which came just days after Israel targeted top military figures and nuclear scientists – are believed to have set back Iran’s nuclear program by up to two years.
But security experts have told Fox News Digital that Iran continues to possess significant military strike capabilities, and questions remain over whether Iran was able to successfully move any enriched uranium off site prior to Washington’s strikes.
Pezeshkian acknowledged the blow that Israel levied against its top officials, but said it ‘completely failed’ to ‘eliminate’ the hierarchy of Iran’s nuclear program.
He further warned that Iran is ready to take on Jerusalem should another conflict break out.
‘We are fully prepared for any new Israeli military move, and our armed forces are ready to strike deep inside Israel again,’ Pezeshkian said.
Iran and Israel are still operating under a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and Qatar following last month’s 12-Day War, but the Iranian president said he is not confident this truce will hold.
‘We are not very optimistic about it,’ Pezeshkian said.
‘That is why we have prepared ourselves for any possible scenario and any potential response. Israel has harmed us, and we have also harmed it,’ he added. ‘It has dealt us powerful blows, and we have struck it hard in its depths, but it is concealing its losses.’
Delegations from France, Germany and the U.K. (E3) are set to travel to Tehran on Friday to discuss nuclear negotiations.
The E3 visit will come just three days after officials from Russia and China, who are also signatories of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO), visited on Tuesday to discuss negotiations and how Iran can avoid sanctions, though details of the talks remain unknown.
Iran began initiating international talks after the E3 last week threatened to employ snapback sanctions – which would see the entire 15-member U.N. Security Council enforce strict economic ramifications – should Iran not enter into a nuclear agreement by the end of August.
The timeframe is consistent with the time needed for the JCPOA signatories to recall snapback sanctions prior to the Oct. 18 expiration date when the economic tool can no longer be employed en masse per the 2015 terms of the agreement.