Nuclear Program Just ‘A Pretext’ Used by Enemies to Pressure Iran: Official

Ali-Akbar Salehi noted Iran has already achieved all the thresholds in nuclear industry, even though the country is not seeking nuclear weapons.

“The enemy does not believe that we are not seeking nukes, but they should know that we have all thresholds of nuclear power and we possess them,” he said.

“The US should know that Iran’s move forward on the path to developing peaceful nuclear energy will not stop and Iran will not forswear this right,” he said.

Salehi noted the nuclear issue is just a pretext by the enemy.

“Enemies have problems with the Islamic Establishment and our government, and nuclear power is just an excuse,” he said.

The AEOI chief said US President Joe Biden has said Iran should stop uranium enrichment, but Iran will not renounce its entitlement to peaceful nuclear work.

“If the US still thinks it can force Iran into submission by force and threats, it should know that it still does not know Iran well,” said Salehi.

He underlined US sanctions and restrictions made Iran more innovative and creative in meeting its needs and prodded Iran into moving faster to develop science and technology.

“They wanted to make our people hungry and ill by imposing sanctions on food and drugs, but now we are self-sufficient in producing foodstuffs and many drugs,” he noted.