Iran’s president insists Tehran does not seek a nuclear bomb and dangles US business opportunities

By NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press TEHRAN Iran AP Iran s president again pledged Wednesday that his nation is not after a nuclear bomb ahead of talks between Tehran and the United States going as far as dangling the prospect of direct American capital in the Islamic Republic if the countries can reach a deal The comments by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian represent a departure from Iran s stance after its nuclear deal with world powers in which Tehran sought to buy American airplanes but in effect barred U S companies from coming into the country His excellency has no opposition to funding by American investors in Iran Pezeshkian announced in a speech in Tehran referring to Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei American investors Come and invest Such a business proposal could draw the interest of U S President Donald Trump who withdrew America from Iran s nuclear deal with world powers in his first term and now seeks a new agreement with the country Pezeshkian who campaigned on a platform of outreach to the West during his voting last year also added that Saturday s talks in Oman between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff would be conducted indirectly Trump has commented the talks would be direct negotiations something Tehran hasn t ruled out after the first round of discussions We are not after a nuclear bomb Pezeshkian added You in the West have verified it times Do it times again Iran long suspicious of business links to US In Khamenei opposed importing American consumer goods into Iran We neither allow economic influence nor political influence and presence as well as cultural influence by Americans in our country he announced then We will confront it by all means we will not allow But after Trump s comments on the talks went masses Iran s ailing market system evidenced new signs of life Its rial currency which hit a record low of over million rials to the dollar rebounded Tuesday to rials Iran s economic system has been severely affected by international sanctions particularly after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers in At the time of the deal which saw Iran drastically limit its enrichment and stockpiling of uranium in exchange for lifting of international sanctions the rial traded at to the dollar There also appeared to be a direct influence from the top on how hard-line media shared the upcoming talks Wednesday as there was no criticism of the negotiations whatsoever something highly rare in Iran s fractious internal politics At first Iran may unilaterally accept a decrease in enrichment This should not be considered a withdrawal the hard-line newspaper Javan inferred to be close to the country s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commented in an editorial Keeping the nuclear industry and enrichment that meets our requirements is what we have been saying and seeking for years In return for a decrease of the level of enrichment and an increase of monitoring Iran should gain concessions on lifting all sanctions and stopping open hostility through the advocacy to the opposition by the U S Pezeshkian himself spoke at an event marking Iran s National Nuclear Device Day which in the past had seen Tehran show off advances in centrifuge machinery that worried the West This year it focused on healthcare applications and other projects Protest in Tehran mocks US and Israel However not everyone agrees with the U S outreach There had been anger toward Trump from Iran s theocracy particularly over his decision to launch a drone strike that killed prominent Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in U S executives have mentioned Trump faced assassination threats from Iran in the lead-up to the presidential electoral process Iranian protesters chant slogans as they wave Palestinian and their country s flags during an anti-Israeli demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Iranian protesters chant slogans as they wave their country s flags during an anti-Israel demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Iranian protesters chant slogans as they wave Iranian and Palestinian flags during an anti-Israel demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Iranian protesters burn representations of the Israeli flag during a demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi The symbolic shrouded bodies of Palestinian children are displayed during an anti-Israel demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Replicas of several missiles are carried on a truck during an anti-Israel demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Replicas of specific missiles are carried on a truck during an anti-Israel demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Iranian protesters chant slogans as they hold Palestinian flags while chosen of them wear white shrouds a symbolic gesture that shows they are prepared to die for their cause during an anti-Israeli demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Show Caption of Iranian protesters chant slogans as they wave Palestinian and their country s flags during an anti-Israeli demonstration at the Felestin Palestine Sq in Tehran Iran Wednesday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Expand A protest in Tehran on Wednesday drew specific hundreds people and saw demonstrators burn an effigy of the U S flag chanting both Death to America and Death to Israel Fake coffins for Israeli representatives including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat to one side as protesters also carried signs decrying the death of civilians in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip Negotiations with whom With a murderer With an occupier solicited one woman holding a Death to Israel placard who declined to give her name at the protest for fear of reprisal We should keep these in mind They perpetually show their true nature Gambrell released from Dubai United Arab Emirates