Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that his country was not seeking nuclear weapons but would continue to defend its “legitimate rights” in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

As a fragile ceasefire with Israel took hold after 12 days of fighting that also included US strikes, Pezeshkian told his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that the two countries “cannot impose unjust aspirations by force”.

“We expect you to explain to them, in your dealings with the United States, that the Islamic Republic of Iran is only seeking to assert its legitimate rights,” Pezeshkian said during a call with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

“It has never sought to acquire nuclear weapons and does not seek them,” he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency, adding that Iran was “ready to resolve the issues… at the negotiating table”.

On Sunday, Israel’s ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

After US President Donald Trump, who had first declared the ceasefire, angrily berated both sides for violating it, Iran announced it would respect the truce if Israel did, while Israel said it had refrained from further strikes.

Israel, in announcing it had agreed to Trump’s plan, said it had achieved all its military objectives.

Iran initially stopped short of officially accepting the proposal, but Pezeshkian later said that if “the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either”.

Israel had accused Iran of firing missiles at it after the truce was meant to have come into effect — which Tehran denied — vowing to respond.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said Israel had “destroyed a radar installation near Tehran” in retaliation, but had “refrained from further strikes” following a phone call between Trump and the premier.

On his way to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, Trump had publicly castigated both countries for violating the truce, and demanded Israel call off what he characterised as an imminent attack, later saying “the Ceasefire is in effect!”

Both Israel and Iran appeared to claim victory following the announcement of the truce.

The Israeli government said Netanyahu had convened his cabinet “to announce that Israel had achieved all the objectives of Operation Rising Lion and much more”.

It added that it had removed “an immediate dual existential threat: nuclear and ballistic”, while vowing to respond forcefully to any violations of the ceasefire.

Iran’s top security body, meanwhile, said the Islamic republic’s forces had “compelled” Israel to “unilaterally” stand down.

Its Revolutionary Guards also hailed a missile salvo fired at Israel “in the final moments before the ceasefire”, saying it taught “a historic and unforgettable lesson to the Zionist enemy”.

Israeli rescuers reported four people killed when a missile struck a residential building in the southern city of Beersheba early on Tuesday.

In Iran, state television said an overnight Israeli strike in the north killed nuclear scientist Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber, who was under US sanctions.

Saudi Arabia and the European Union welcomed the ceasefire announcement, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped “that this will be a sustainable ceasefire”.

China’s foreign ministry said it supported Iran in “achieving a genuine ceasefire so that people can return to normal life”.

But French President Emmanuel Macron warned there was an “increased” risk that Iran would attempt to enrich uranium secretly following the US and Israeli strikes on nuclear sites.

THE MERCURY

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