Iran's President Pezeshkian indicates willingness to resolve nuclear standoff

Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is open to engaging with West if 2015 deal is upheld

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses the UN General Assembly. Bloomberg

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Iran is prepared to resolve its nuclear standoff with the West, President Masoud Pezeshkian announced at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, saying Tehran is open to engagement if the 2015 nuclear deal is upheld.

“We are ready to engage with JCPOA participants if JCPOA commitments are implemented fully and in good faith,” he said, referring to the nuclear deal's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Mr Pezeshkian, who became President in May after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in northern Iran, also condemned Israel for what he described as “genocide in Gaza” and called for an immediate halt to the violence.

“The international community must urgently intervene to establish a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and end Israel’s desperate barbarism in Lebanon before it engulfs the region and the world,” he said. “Israel has been defeated in Gaza and no amount of barbaric violence can restore its myth of invincibility.”

Iran's leaders hope to see an easing of US sanctions over its nuclear programme. But relations with the West have worsened since the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7 and as Tehran has increased its support for Russia's war in Ukraine.

“We seek peace for all and have no intention of conflict with any country … Iran opposes war and emphasises the need for an immediate cessation of military conflict in Ukraine,” Mr Pezeshkian said.