He made the remarks on Sunday during a meeting with senior managers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) after visiting an exhibition showcasing the latest nuclear achievements in the fields of healthcare, medicine, and production of radiopharmaceuticals.
Pezeshkian said biased propaganda and narratives are meant to insinuate that nuclear activities are synonymous with developing atomic bombs.
“However, the nuclear industry is a vast collection of scientific and industrial capacities and only a tiny fraction of its disproportionate and inhumane consequences relates to bomb-making,” he added.
“Our intention and determination in expanding this industry is to meet the needs of the people and enhance the welfare of our country, not to produce weapons.”
The Iranian president also noted that harnessing modern technologies and entering the global competitive arena is vital for the country at a time when arrogant powers are seeking to deprive independent nations of access to advanced technologies and keep them confined to assembly industries.
He further stressed that hostilities against Iran and the assassination of its scientists stem from the major powers’ concern about the country’s scientific and technological independence.
“We have repeatedly declared that building nuclear weapons is not on our agenda—and they (the world powers) know this. Yet they use false claims as a pretext to hinder Iran’s progress,” he said.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly underscored that its defense doctrine excludes nuclear weapons entirely as per a fatwa (binding religious decree) issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei.
Additionally, in his remarks, Pezeshkian honored the memory of martyrs of June’s illegal Israeli-US aggression against Iran, especially nuclear scientists, describing their efforts as a form of “scientific jihad (endeavor for the sake of God) and sincere service to the nation.”
Israel launched its blatant and unprovoked aggression against Iran on June 13, triggering a 12-day war that killed at least 1,064 people in the country, including civilians, military commanders, and nuclear scientists.
The United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of international law.
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.
On June 24, Iran, through its successful retaliatory operations against both the Israeli regime and the US, managed to impose a halt to the terrorist assault.