Pezeshkian vows Iran ‘will never surrender’ as nuclear sanctions reimposed

By Reuters 20 September 2025, 4:22 pm

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A handout picture provided by the Iranian president's office on August 30, 2025, shows President Masoud Pezeshkian speaking during a televised interview in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vows that Iran will overcome any reimposition of sanctions on it through a so-called snapback process, after the UN Security Council voted not to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran.

“Through the ‘snapback’ they block the road, but it is the brains and the thoughts that open or build the road,” Pezeshkian says in remarks carried by state television.

“They cannot stop us. They can strike our Natanz or Fordo (nuclear installations attacked by the US and Israel in June), but they are unaware that it is humans who built and will rebuild Natanz,” Pezeshkian says.

The Security Council move came on Friday after Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process last month to reimpose sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies having any such intention.

“We will never surrender in the face of excessive demands because we have the power to change the situation,” Pezeshkian is quoted as saying by state media.