Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN Wednesday his country has "never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb", as new European sanctions loom. He accused Israel and the US of destabilising the region and betraying diplomacy with recent military strikes on Iran.
Issued on: 24/09/2025
By: FRANCE 24
President of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 24, 2025 in New York City. © Michael M. Santiago, Getty Images via AFP
Iran's president repeated Wednesday that his country is not seeking nuclear weapons, after military strikes by Israel and the United States earlier this year, and impending sanctions triggered by European powers.
"I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb," President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly.
"The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished," he said.
Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.
But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been sceptical due to the country's advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.
Britain, France and Germany have moved to reimpose UN sanctions that had been suspended under a 2015 nuclear deal that was negotiated by the United States and then torn up by US President Donald Trump.
Read moreSnapback: what would renewed UN sanctions mean for Iran’s struggling economy?
The sanctions are set to go into effect on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Tuesday with his European counterparts, leading to no clear headway other than an agreement to keep talking.
Pezeshkian accused the Europeans of bad faith, saying that Iran's lack of cooperation was in response to Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement, and they disparaged Iran's sincere efforts as insufficient," Pezeshkian said.
"All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA which they themselves had once held as a foremost achievement."
Standing at the General Assembly rostrum, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the Israeli military campaign against Iran, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.
"Aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran's cities, homes and infrastructure at the very time we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy," he said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Iran's president repeated Wednesday that his country is not seeking nuclear weapons, after military strikes by Israel and the United States earlier this year, and impending sanctions triggered by European powers.
"I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb," President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly.
"The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished," he said.
Iran has long contended that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, pointing to an edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and US intelligence has not concluded that the country has decided to build a nuclear weapon.
But Israel, the United States and European countries have long been sceptical due to the country's advanced nuclear work, believing it could quickly pursue a bomb if it so decided.
Britain, France and Germany have moved to reimpose UN sanctions that had been suspended under a 2015 nuclear deal that was negotiated by the United States and then torn up by US President Donald Trump.
Read moreSnapback: what would renewed UN sanctions mean for Iran’s struggling economy?
The sanctions are set to go into effect on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Tuesday with his European counterparts, leading to no clear headway other than an agreement to keep talking.
Pezeshkian accused the Europeans of bad faith, saying that Iran's lack of cooperation was in response to Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"They falsely presented themselves as parties of good standing to the agreement, and they disparaged Iran's sincere efforts as insufficient," Pezeshkian said.
"All of this was in pursuit of nothing less than the destruction of the very JCPOA which they themselves had once held as a foremost achievement."
Standing at the General Assembly rostrum, Pezeshkian showed pictures of people killed in the Israeli military campaign against Iran, which Tehran says killed more than 1,000 people.
"Aerial assaults of the Zionist regime and the United States of America against Iran's cities, homes and infrastructure at the very time we were treading the path of diplomatic negotiations constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy," he said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Iran Signs MoU For Russian Small Nuclear Modular Reactors
Iran signs MoU for Russian small nuclear modular reactors. Photo Credit: Rosatom
September 25, 2025 0 Comments
By World Nuclear News
Russia’s Rosatom and Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation have signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the building of small modular reactors in Iran.
According to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation “this agreement was concluded to expand cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy to promote sustainable development, energy security, and technological advancement, in accordance with the national laws and international obligations of the two countries”.
It said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) paves the way for contracts to be drawn up for the design and construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Iran, adding that “these reactors will play an important role in the development of nuclear technical knowledge and technology and industries related to the manufacture of power plant equipment and instruments in the country.”
The MoU was signed by Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev and the President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran Mohammad Eslami.
Rosatom said they also discussed the progress of ongoing projects – a Russian-designed VVER unit with a capacity of 915 MWe is already in operation at Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf coast. Two further units featuring VVER-1000 reactors are under construction.
The meeting, Rosatom said, “took place in an atmosphere of mutual trust, openness, and constructiveness” and was part of the Iranian delegation’s visit to Moscow to participate in the World Atomic Week forum, which runs from 25-28 September.
World Nuclear News is an online service dedicated to covering developments related to nuclear power. Established in 2007, WNN has grown rapidly to welcome over 40,000 individual readers to the website each month, while its free daily and weekly emails both reach more than 16,000 people. These figures represent a broad audience that includes not only nuclear professionals but also journalists, researchers, opinion leaders, policy-makers, and the general public.
Iran signs MoU for Russian small nuclear modular reactors. Photo Credit: Rosatom
September 25, 2025 0 Comments
By World Nuclear News
Russia’s Rosatom and Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation have signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the building of small modular reactors in Iran.
According to Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation “this agreement was concluded to expand cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy to promote sustainable development, energy security, and technological advancement, in accordance with the national laws and international obligations of the two countries”.
It said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) paves the way for contracts to be drawn up for the design and construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) in Iran, adding that “these reactors will play an important role in the development of nuclear technical knowledge and technology and industries related to the manufacture of power plant equipment and instruments in the country.”
The MoU was signed by Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev and the President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran Mohammad Eslami.
Rosatom said they also discussed the progress of ongoing projects – a Russian-designed VVER unit with a capacity of 915 MWe is already in operation at Bushehr, on the Persian Gulf coast. Two further units featuring VVER-1000 reactors are under construction.
The meeting, Rosatom said, “took place in an atmosphere of mutual trust, openness, and constructiveness” and was part of the Iranian delegation’s visit to Moscow to participate in the World Atomic Week forum, which runs from 25-28 September.
World Nuclear News is an online service dedicated to covering developments related to nuclear power. Established in 2007, WNN has grown rapidly to welcome over 40,000 individual readers to the website each month, while its free daily and weekly emails both reach more than 16,000 people. These figures represent a broad audience that includes not only nuclear professionals but also journalists, researchers, opinion leaders, policy-makers, and the general public.
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