Iran's president says Tehran not after nukes, slams propaganda claiming otherwise

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday reiterated that his country does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, dismissing anti-Tehran propaganda claiming otherwise as a "lie."

Pezeshkian made the remarks during a meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on the sidelines of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, according to a statement on his office's website.

Pezeshkian said Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons and considers the destructive propaganda against the country a lie, citing the clear positions of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons.

Pezeshkian noted that Iran has always been ready for dialogue, saying the United States believes it can force Iran to surrender, but Iran will not acquiesce to coercion.

He said the U.S. sanctions against Iran fail to comply with humanitarian frameworks, describing recent U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran as "unjustifiable and inhumane."

Kobakhidze, for his part, underlined that his country rejects any form of foreign interference in states' internal affairs.

In a separate meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Pezeshkian said that the United States must recognize that Iran will not surrender and will continue its relations with the world with power, relying on its people and coordinating with its neighbors, according to his office's website.

He added that the United States and its sanctions have created problems for Iran and the entire world, warning that should Washington seek to continue the same path, the situation would worsen for the entire world.

Pezeshkian called on Washington to engage in dialogue based on logic rather than using force.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts.

Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, ending on Aug. 17, to reach a final agreement on Iran's nuclear program and the removal of sanctions. However, they failed to make sufficient progress toward a deal as tensions continued to escalate.

Iran's president says Tehran not after nukes, slams propaganda claiming otherwise

Iran's president says Tehran not after nukes, slams propaganda claiming otherwise

Iran's president says Tehran not after nukes, slams propaganda claiming otherwise

Iran's president says Tehran not after nukes, slams propaganda claiming otherwise

Chinese authorities on Friday began soliciting public opinion on a revision to the catalog of technologies that are subject to export bans or restrictions, with plans to add some technologies in artificial intelligence (AI), biomedicine and photovoltaics to the list.

The adjustment, initiated by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology, covers 40 technologies across the three sectors, according to a notice released by the commerce ministry.

Pre-export registration management will be implemented for these technologies in parallel, the commerce ministry said.

The proposed adjustment includes 23 technologies related to large models, intelligent agents, computing power clusters, and information processing in the AI sector, five technologies related to cell and gene therapy, small nucleic acid drugs, and pathogenic microorganisms in the biomedical sector, and 12 technologies related to polysilicon, wafer and cell manufacturing in the photovoltaic sector.

In a separate statement, the commerce ministry said adjustments to the catalog have been routine since 2001, and the latest proposed revision does not target any specific country, region or entity.

The ministry noted that major economies have implemented varied export controls amid the expanding application of AI, biomedicine and photovoltaic-related technologies in sensitive fields in recent years.

China exercises necessary management in accordance with the law to prevent the risk of losing control over technologies and their improper proliferation, while safeguarding normal international technological exchanges and cooperation, it said.

Regarding the AI sector, the ministry said the move aims to ensure AI technologies are safe and controllable, noting the risk of misuse, including the employment of AI-driven malicious code generation and mutation technologies to attack sensitive systems such as information infrastructure and bypass national security defense systems.

However, the authorities have also specified multiple export scenarios to which facilitation measures can apply, reflecting a tiered and categorized management approach that enhances policy transparency and predictability.

For instance, AI technologies that have already entered the public domain through open source and published academic papers will be exempt from the export control measures. In the biomedical sector, automatic licensing will apply to outbound licensing models that do not involve a transfer of ownership.

The soliciting of public opinion lasts from Oct. 16 to Nov. 15, 2026, and the specific content of the adjustment can be found on the commerce ministry's official website.

China to adjust export control list, proposes adding AI, biomedicine, photovoltaics

China to adjust export control list, proposes adding AI, biomedicine, photovoltaics