Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Tehran's enemies may be able to strike the country's nuclear centres but they cannot deprive it of its ability to build new ones.

Tension is escalating between the U.S. and Iran over its nuclear ambitions. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to sanction Iran over their development of nuclear weapons and their exporting terrorism through proxy groups.

President Trump’s desire to engage in negotiations is a turnabout from his first term, when he often derided former President Barack Obama for agreeing to a nuclear deal with Iran.