“I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek nuclear weapons,” Pezeshkian said.

On Aug 28, Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process to reimpose UN sanctions that ends on Sept 27, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.

The European powers have offered to delay reinstating sanctions for up to six months to allow space for talks on a long-term deal if Iran restores access for UN nuclear inspectors, addresses concerns about its stock of enriched uranium, and engages in talks with the US.

Pezeshkian accused the so-called E3 of triggering the process to return international sanctions on Iran at “the behest of the United States of America”.