Thursday, July 24, 2025

Iran doubles down on refusal to end nuclear program, ready for war with Israel

I
ran’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. (Read more)