Iranian president reiterates Iran’s opposition to building nuclear weapons — state TV

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons,” President Masoud Pezeshkian says.

Pezeshkian speaks ahead of a third round of nuclear talks today with the US in Geneva. US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran if an agreement is not reached on Tehran’s nuclear program, and called in his State of the Union address for Tehran to pledge not to obtain a nuclear bomb.

Khamenei, who has the final say on the nuclear program, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s, and Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire the weapons.

However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Prior to the June 2025 war between the countries, Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.