Overview

• The U.N. Security Council rejected a Russia–China bid to delay the JCPOA snapback, making a return of international penalties likely after the Saturday deadline.
• In an NBC interview, Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran does not seek war but will respond forcefully to attacks and warned that President Donald Trump’s approach risks regional conflagration.
• Pezeshkian welcomed on‑the‑ground IAEA inspections and criticized conclusions drawn solely from satellite imagery about Iranian nuclear activity.
• Commercial satellite photos show expanded tunneling, new fencing, and construction at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz, which analysts say suggests deeper underground nuclear infrastructure.
• He pledged to keep Iran in the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s stance against direct talks with the U.S. limits diplomatic options, while thousands of Iranian dissidents protested outside the U.N.