Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied that Tehran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while expressing his willingness to engage in dialogue and condemning US sanctions, during talks with Georgia’s Prime Minister.

During his meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for closer ties with Georgia, just weeks after Tbilisi suspended air links between the two countries following US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of a United Nations biodiversity summit in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

“Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and we consider the malicious propaganda against our country to be deceptive,” Pezeshkian said, according to a statement from the Iranian presidency.

“We have always been open to dialogue. They believe they can force us to capitulate, but we will not yield to coercion,” he added, describing US sanctions against Tehran as “unjustified and inhumane”.

During his meeting with Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for a clear timetable to be drawn up to strengthen cooperation between Tehran and Tbilisi, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.

According to Tasnim, Kobakhidze said he opposed any foreign interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries. However, his office did not issue a statement containing similar remarks.

In September, Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency said the country would comply with the US sanctions regime, while Kobakhidze insisted that Tbilisi was not imposing its own bilateral sanctions on Tehran.