Iran’s new reformist president is insisting that Tehran didn’t want to enrich uranium at near-weapons grade levels but had been forced by the U.S. withdrawal from its nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his government had not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August, after Western powers accused Tehran of delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September.

Russia has turned to Iran and North Korea for military aid amid its invasion of Ukraine, facing international sanctions and isolation. Iran recently provided Russia with Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles,

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran would never give up on its missile programme as it needs such deterrence for its security in a region where Iran's arch-foe Israel is able to "drop missiles on Gaza every day".

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.