Iran will not hesitate to defend its nuclear programme, foreign ministry says

Iran has defended its nuclear programme and will not be hesitant to continue doing so, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, a day after Israel and the U.S. vowed to counter Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"Iran's peaceful nuclear programme is ongoing, and has been for the last three decades, based on Iran's rights as a member in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons... definitely we will not show any weakness in this regard," he said.

Israel and the United States are determined to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and its influence in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem.

Rubio said: "Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people that call this region home, is Iran."