Iranian president says Tehran ‘ready for dialogue’ but will not ‘bow to coercion’

By AFP Today, 8:17 pm

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during the leaders’ summit of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on October 16, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denies that Tehran seeks nuclear weapons, expresses readiness for dialogue and condemns US sanctions during talks with Georgia’s prime minister.

In his meeting with Georgian premier Irakli Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also calls 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 says, 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 adds, calling US sanctions against Tehran “unjustifiable and inhumane.”