TEHRAN, April 19. /TASS/. No one gave the US administration the right to deprive Iran of the opportunity to develop nuclear energy, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated.

"US President [Donald Trump] declares that Iran should not use its nuclear rights, but does not explain why. And who is he in this world to deprive a nation of its legitimate rights? From the standpoint of human principles, every free person, regardless of religion, creed, race, and ethnicity, should enjoy his inalienable rights, and we also demand that in the international system, all peoples be treated on the basis of justice and fairness," the Iranian president said as quoted by his press service on its Telegram channel.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that the US and Iranian delegations have agreed upon most of the problem issues, but the nuclear problem has remained unresolved. "Most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, nuclear, was not," he explained.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with India Today that Iran should have a right to peaceful nuclear energy just like any other country in the world.

Iran began developing its nuclear program in the 1950s during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with support from the US. In 1958, the country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); in 1968, Tehran signed the NPT and ratified it in 1970. After the overthrow of the Shah’s regime in 1979 and the proclamation of the Islamic Republic, the nuclear program was suspended until the authorities resumed developing nuclear technology in the late 1980s. Since 2003, a fatwa (religious ruling) issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in effect in Iran, prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons.