Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian provided an update on the country's nuclear program this week amid heightened tensions in the Middle East. On Monday, Pezeshkian held a press conference where he was asked about Iran's nuclear program and said that Tehran does not seek to enrich uranium to near-weapons grade levels but claimed it was compelled to do so after the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran’s new reformist president is insisting that Tehran didn’t want to enrich uranium at near-weapons grade levels but had been forced by the U.S. withdrawal from its nuclear deal with world powers.

The Islamic Republic has for years defied Western calls to limit its missile programme. The United States and its allies have more recently accused Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine,