Tehran, Iran - September 16, 2024

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his country has not sent hypersonic missiles to Yemen's Houthi group.

The president made the remarks at a press conference in Tehran, in response to a question from an Al Jazeera news network reporter who quoted political experts saying that Iran has supplied hypersonic missiles, or the technology to develop them, to the Houthis.

Iran has hypersonic missiles, but not of the same kind that the Houthis possess, Pezeshkian said, adding that the Houthis themselves had developed the missiles over time.

It is impossible for Iran to send missiles to Yemen covertly when it takes more than a week just to send solely human forces to the country, he said.

Pezeshkian said that Iran and the Houthis have worked together against Israel's "genocide" in Gaza, and stressed that the international community should condemn the crimes against humanity committed by Israel.

On Iran-U.S. relations, Pezeshkian emphasized Iran's pursuit of peace over conflict and clarified that Iran has no intentions of building nuclear weapons.

However, he said, the U.S. has chosen to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and made threats against Iran. The possibility of a relaxation in strained relations between the two sides hinges on the U.S. dropping its animosity towards Iran and revoking its extensive sanctions against the country, he said.

Shotlist:
Tehran, Iran - July 16, 2024:
1. Various of press conference in progress, camera crew;
2. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian President:
"If [the Western] countries are worried about the security of Israel, why are they not concerned about the security of Gaza Strip, the security of Palestine and innocent people? Civilized countries and supporters of human rights should not allow power to bomb and kill innocent civilians while simultaneously accusing Iran of supplying missiles to Yemen's Houthis.";
3. Various of press conference in progress, reporters;
4. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian President (starting with shot 3):
"We don't want to start a war, but the U.S. wants to impose wars on us. If the U.S. is willing to respect Iran's rights, we will not engage in conflict with the U.S. or any other party. We hope to develop safely in our own country without the U.S. undermining Iran's security or threaten and humiliate Iran. we will never accept humiliation.";
FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Date Unknown
5. White House;
6. Various of Capitol building, U.S. national flag;
FILE: Tehran, Iran - April 10, 2023
7. Various of national flags of Iran, cityscape, traffic;
FILE: Tehran, Iran - Aug 2023
8. National flags of Iran, cityscape, traffic;
9. Azadi Tower;
10. Traffic;
FILE: Tehran, Iran - April 10, 2023
11. Cityscape;
FILE: Isfahan, Iran - July 19, 2021
12. Traffic.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International TV]