Global coalition failed to defeat Iran, IRGC deputy chief says

Iran can enrich uranium to 93 percent for 'peaceful' purposes, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday, rejecting US arguments against its nuclear program.

“The United States says Iran has oil and therefore does not need nuclear industry, but then America, which is a major oil producer, should not have nuclear power either,” Mahmoud Nabavian said.

“We can have 93 percent enrichment for peaceful purposes.”

Negotiations cannot be one-sided, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a meeting with anti-war activists in New York on Thursday, adding that Iran has abided by its nuclear commitments while others have not.

“What kind of negotiation is it where we must honor our commitments while they do not uphold any of theirs?” he said.

International pressure surrounds the snapback mechanism and sanctions on financial institutions in recent months have exceeded it several times over, Masoumeh Aqapour, an adviser to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Thursday.

“There is international pressure regarding the snapback mechanism. Sanctions imposed on financial institutions over the past six months have been several times greater than those under the snapback mechanism,” she said.

“Psychologically it can have a large impact on the country’s economy. We must pursue both long-term and short-term programs to minimise the effects of the snapback mechanism,” she added.

“We should use the capacity of India and China to supply essential goods.”

EU Council President António Costa said he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York to raise concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, detainees, and military support for Russia.

“We agreed that continued dialogue remains essential to address and resolve these issues,” Costa said in a post on X. “I urged President Pezeshkian to take — even at this late stage — concrete steps towards full cooperation with the IAEA.”

US statements about willingness for diplomacy are “nothing but deception and an obvious contradiction,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.

“It is impossible to bomb a country while holding diplomatic talks and then speak of diplomacy,” he added.