Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that proving the peaceful aims of its nuclear program would be easy, in an apparent bid to address US President Donald Trump's increased emphasis on achieving a deal.
"Verifying (the nuclear program) is an easy task. They have come and verified every time they wanted to do so and they can come verify a hundred more times," Pezeshkian said in remarks carried by state media.
Iran does not seek nuclear weapons because the principles of the Islamic Republic prohibit the mass killing of innocents, the relatively moderate president added in a televised meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran.
Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon, but its Mideast foe Israel has long contended Tehran wants a bomb and that it poses an existential threat.
The decision-maker on critical matters of state is not Pezeshkian but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who issued a religious ban on weapons of mass destruction which some observers believe is not permanent and could be revisited.
Trump said on Tuesday he hoped for an agreement denying Iran nuclear weapons.
"They cannot have a nuclear weapon," he told reporters at a press conference held after signing a memorandum to restore his so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran.
"If ... they can convince us that they won't, and I hope they can," Trump continued, "It's actually very easy to do, I think they're going to have an unbelievable future."
Tehran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but has accelerated its uranium enrichment to up to 60% — close to the 90% threshold that is considered weapons-grade, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.
