(MENAFN) Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of misleading U.S. presidents for decades by promoting the false claim that Iran aims to develop nuclear weapons.

In an interview aired Monday with conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian said, “It was Netanyahu since 1984 who has created this false mentality that Iran seeks a nuclear bomb,” referring to Netanyahu’s time as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations. He added, “He has put it in the minds of every US president since then… [that] we would like to have a nuclear bomb,” emphasizing that Iran has never pursued such a weapon. “This is in contrast to the religious decree… issued by Iran’s supreme leader,” Pezeshkian said, also pointing out that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Iran is not developing nuclear arms.

The Iranian leader further accused Israel of intentionally undermining diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States by launching a major strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, military sites, and key commanders on June 13. “We were right in the middle of holding talks with the US… we were told that as long as we don’t give permission to Israel, they are not going to attack you,” he said. “But suddenly Israel torpedoed the negotiating table… they totally ruined and destroyed diplomacy.”

Pezeshkian confirmed that Iran remains open to talks about international oversight of its nuclear activities but argued that the recent attacks have made such monitoring impossible for now. “We don’t have any access to them [nuclear sites]. We have to wait and see how much they have been damaged.”

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