- Iran's President Pezeshkian denied Tehran seeks a nuclear weapon in Fox News interview
- He stated Iran is willing to dilute its highly enriched uranium and allow verification
- Pezeshkian cited a religious decree against weapons of mass destruction by Iran's leader
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Tehran was seeking a nuclear weapon in a rare interview with Fox News, telling anchor Bret Baier that Iran was willing to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and submit to international verification.
Asked directly, "Do you want a nuclear bomb or not?", Pezeshkian replied, "Not at all. Not at all." He said Iran's supreme leader had repeatedly issued a religious decree declaring weapons of mass destruction "unholy" and "religiously illegal."
When Baier pressed him on why Iran had buried uranium enriched to 60% deep under a mountain if it did not intend to conceal it, Pezeshkian said, "No. No. We said we're willing to dilute them. It's not a big deal. We are willing to submit ourselves to verification, sir."
He also accused Washington of bypassing dialogue and "bombing us first," saying, "This is not the way to conduct yourself on the world stage."
The exchange, aired on Fox's Special Report, is among the first extended on-camera interviews Pezeshkian has given a Western network since the US and Israel launched a renewed offensive against Iran on 28 February, striking nuclear and military sites across the country.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior military and nuclear officials were killed in the opening strikes, with further attacks on facilities at Natanz, Arak and Ardakan reported into March.
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The assault followed an earlier 12-day air war between Israel and Iran in June 2025.
Tehran has previously signalled openness to diluting the material. Iran's atomic energy chief, Mohammad Eslami, said in February that dilution was possible if Washington lifted all sanctions on the country, without specifying whether this meant US sanctions alone or the broader international regime.
Iran has continued to deny it is pursuing a weapon, maintaining its enrichment programme is for civilian purposes, a position the US and its allies have long disputed given the enrichment level far exceeds requirements for civilian energy use.
Pezeshkian's comments come amid continuing, indirect Iran-US contacts over a longer-term nuclear settlement following the conflict.
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