Iran president says will not 'give in to excessive demands'

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that his country would “not yield to excessive demands” on its nuclear programme, after Tehran resumed talks with the United States.

He also said Iran was ready for “any verification” of its nuclear programme and insisted it was not seeking an atomic weapon.

Iran and the United States resumed negotiations last week for the first time since the war with Israel last June that saw the US conduct strikes on nuclear sites in Iran.

“Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighbouring countries in order to establish peace and tranquillity in the region,” Pezeshkian said.

He was speaking at Azadi Square in the capital Tehran, to mark the 47th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic revolution.

“Our country, Iran, will not yield to their excessive demands,” he added.

Iran wants the talks to remain centred purely on its nuclear programme, while the United States also wants the Islamic republic’s ballistic missile programme and its support for militant groups in the region to be discussed.

Every year, supporters of Iran’s leadership turn out in force to mark the anniversary of the revolution that ousted the US-backed shah in 1979.

At Azadi Square on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent saw a large security presence, bigger than in previous years.

Veiled women waved the flag of the Islamic republic and carried pictures of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran last month saw a nationwide protest movement that sparked a major crackdown, with the United States threatening military action in support of the demonstrators.