Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian firmly denied Thursday that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapon, while saying Iran is prepared to open its nuclear program to international inspections. He blamed Washington for the nearly seven-month conflict in the Middle East and accused the United States of obstructing diplomatic efforts.

During an exclusive interview on Fox News’ “Special Report,” host Bret Baier asked Pezeshkian directly, “Do you want a nuclear bomb or not?” The Iranian president rejected the suggestion outright.

“Not at all. Not at all. Our martyred, esteemed supreme leader had announced several times that, from a religious decree, it is unholy. It is illegal,” he said, referring to religious rulings against weapons of mass destruction.

Pezeshkian’s denial came as Iran faces years of international scrutiny over its nuclear activities, including uranium enrichment to levels far above those generally associated with civilian nuclear power.

Those concerns formed the central justification cited by President Donald Trump for launching Operation Epic Fury in February.

Pezeshkian said Thursday that Tehran could consider reducing its enrichment levels and permitting independent verification as part of an effort to ease tensions surrounding its nuclear program.

“So, that weapon’s mass destruction. We said we’re willing to dilute them. It’s not a big deal. We are willing to submit ourselves to verification,” he said.

The Iranian president also cited a failed memorandum of understanding, or MOU, that he and Trump signed in June. The agreement was intended to stop the fighting and create a framework for a broader deal between Washington and Tehran.

Under the U.S. plan, the process would have moved toward ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions through negotiations over a 60-day period and ultimately produced a final agreement.

“We have no problems. We did reach an agreement with your president,” Pezeshkian said of Trump, who signed the deal.

“That agreement was signed, and, based on that, we are willing and still wish to move forward.

“And the framework was agreed upon. We had not closed the Strait of Hormuz; it was open without any legal justification or framework,” he said.

“They attacked us. They assassinated and martyred our esteemed supreme leader, our scientists, our military commanders and government.”

Pezeshkian accused Washington of derailing diplomacy through its subsequent actions, but said Tehran remains willing to negotiate an agreement.

“The problem is that America, instead of conducting dialog, they descend into the arena by bombing us first, by blocking every pathway. We are ready,” he said.

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“This is not the way to conduct yourself on the world stage. They can have free access to see whatever we have, but not to put us under such pressure, under blockades, deny us access.”

Pezeshkian also held Washington responsible for the broader conflict.

“We do not seek to kill Americans, as shown by actions, demonstrable actions. America has sought to kill Iranians,” Pezeshkian said. “What we know is that if we’re attacked, we must defend ourselves.”

Addressing U.S. military strikes — including Operation Outcast — and increasing secondary sanctions, Pezeshkian said Iran would continue resisting Washington’s campaign.

“This is something that has been the doing of the United States,” he said. “We will keep resisting. We will find ways, and the life of our country will continue. We will remain.

“Yes, we do have economic issues, certainly. But in order to remain, we will go through any hardship and endure.

“If America thinks that they can keep sanctioning us, we have nothing to do, nor do we consider any type of American elections. If the current American government, within international legal frameworks, wishes to reach an agreement, fine. If not, before the elections or after the elections, what difference does it make for us?”

Pezeshkian repeated that Iran does not want the war to continue, while blaming Israel for helping provoke the conflict and putting responsibility on Washington to bring it to an end.

“We will stand resolutely to defend ourselves. We never sought war. We do not seek war,” he said.

“I deeply believe that humans should not cause the death of another human. But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us.

“But we do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not.”

The Iranian president also addressed reports that Iranian forces used Chinese satellite imagery to carry out a deadly strike on a U.S. base in Jordan. The attack resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members.

When questioned about the reports, Pezeshkian denied direct knowledge.

“I’m specifically unaware of these purported images that you talk about,” Pezeshkian said. 

“Now, what do militaries do with one another between two countries? It is their own business within their own guidelines.”

Former Home Improvement star Jonathan Taylor Thomas appeared disheveled Thursday in his first public sighting since his arrest on Monday.

Thomas, 45, was photographed getting some fresh air in Los Angeles, according to images obtained by the Daily Mail.

The former child actor has largely stayed out of the spotlight since being arrested on suspicion of obstruction and public intoxication.

According to a police statement obtained by the Daily Mail, authorities alleged that Thomas “kicked a deputy in the stomach” during the confrontation.

Sources close to Thomas told the Daily Mail that he has recently been struggling with disappointment over a Hollywood career that did not develop as he had hoped. Just weeks after his 45th birthday, they reportedly fear he believes it may be too late to revive his career.

The Daily Mail has contacted Thomas’s representatives for comment but has not received a response.

Thomas was seen on a patio wearing a plain black T-shirt and jeans, with his shaggy dark hair on display.

One source speaking to the Daily Mail offered insight into Thomas’s reported frame of mind in recent days.

“He is kind of a grumpy guy; he can be negative, like woe is me,” the source said.

“Jonathan is depressed. He wishes his career would be better off. He really wanted to become a director and be a bigger deal behind the camera, but it has not worked out,” the source continued.

The source also said Thomas has been increasingly preoccupied with his age.

“He just turned 45 and thinks that maybe his time has passed, that he lost out in Hollywood, which is sad because he is super intelligent and a good person,” the insider said.

The source added that Thomas’s defining success as a child actor may still be affecting his career.

“No one ever got past that he was the kid on Home Improvement, and he still kind of has kid looks, so I think that has hurt him,” the source said.

“Hollywood is tough; it’s not his fault, it’s just a tough business, and work has really slowed down a ton in LA, so there is not much work for people,” the source said, adding, “Hopefully he bounces back from this.”

The source was also consternated by Thomas’s run-in with the law and struggled to understand how things could have escalated so disastrously. 

‘The story is really strange; he wasn’t even driving the car,’ they mused. ‘If he just kept his mouth shut, he would have been fine, but he had to get mad, and now he is back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

‘Jonathan clearly was just having a really bad night,’ the insider added. ‘He really messed up.’

Another source told the Daily Mail that Thomas’s arrest had further damaged the already shaky chances of Home Improvement ever being revived, following the ‘never-ending struggles’ to get it in motion and ‘the substantial loss of Earl [Hindman], who played Wilson.

‘The chances of doing any sort of reboot is pretty much impossible,’ the second source said, before clarifying, ‘Not that anything was in the works; this incident makes it that much more impossible.’

They revealed that Thomas was living in fear of more damaging information emerging about his arrest and confrontation with police.

‘Jonathan is extremely embarrassed and has no excuses for what he did and is horrified about if and when the body cam footage comes out,’ the source continued. ‘To think that something like that will be out there – and out there forever – is a terrible feeling.’

They added that for someone who is as ‘private’ as Thomas has been in recent years, the arrest ‘would be a stain on everything he believes in, because he believes in being a normal person, and an upright citizen who causes no problems. 

The second source added: ‘He’s taking this very hard, and he is very upset with himself.’

According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the arrest occurred in Westlake Village, California, when deputies spotted a vehicle blocking traffic at an intersection. 

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In a press release obtained by The Daily Mail, the department said deputies noticed the driver seemed intoxicated and was behaving oddly, prompting them to perform an investigation for driving under the influence.

As field sobriety tests were being conducted, Thomas – who was not driving – ‘continually exited the vehicle and approached the deputies, distracting them from their investigation,’ according to the press release. 

‘Deputies attempted to detain Weiss for obstruction and public intoxication, at which point, Weiss [Thomas] kicked a deputy in the stomach,’ the release said.

Thomas was arrested, transported and booked on charges of obstruction and public intoxication at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. He was released the following day. 

The driver of the vehicle was also arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. 

According to the LA County Sheriff’s inmate information center, Thomas’s obstruction charge has been placed at a felony level. 

A representative for Thomas had no comment when contacted by The Daily Mail.  

Thomas was a massive star in the 90s, with roles in The Lion King, Man of the House, and the series Home Improvement. 

The hit show ran for eight seasons from 1991 to 1999, led by Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson as a suburban couple with three young sons played by Zachery Ty Bryan, Thomas, and Taran Noah Smith.

Thomas, who played middle child Randy Taylor, quit acting in 2006, briefly returning to the screen only for a four-episode guest shot on Allen’s sitcom Last Man Standing from 2013 through 2015.

Since 2017, Thomas has served as a national board member of the media labor union SAG-AFTRA.

In 2013, Thomas told People: ‘I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old. I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break.

He later studied at Harvard and Columbia.

‘I never took the fame too seriously,’ he added. ‘It was a great period in my life, but it doesn’t define me. When I think back on the time, I look at it with a wink. I focus on the good moments I had, not that I was on a lot of magazine covers.’

Allen recently remarked that his co-stars’ ‘issues’ have made the prospect of a Home Improvement revival ‘difficult, to say the least,’ via Us Weekly.

‘They keep talking about how it could move forward, but they get stuck [because] there are some personality problems right now with the boys,’ he said.

‘They’ve got their own issues. I always thought it would be cool if it was a story about them. That’s a little challenging right now, to put it mildly.’

Home Improvement proved to be one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1990s, marking Allen’s emergence as a star actor after years as a stand-up comic. 

Allen led the cast as a suburban father who hosts a TV show called Tool Time with a friend played by Richard Karn and a female foil, who for part of the series’ run was a character portrayed by Pamela Anderson.

Other than Allen, the actor on the show who achieved the greatest celebrity was Thomas, who in 1994 was also the voice of young Simba in The Lion King.

However, his career fizzled after Home Improvement ended and he gave up on acting altogether in 2006, except for four episodes in which he made guest appearances on Allen’s subsequent hit sitcom a decade later.

A couple of years ago, Allen claimed he had been ‘talking about a spinoff’ of Home Improvement with his onscreen sons and Richard Karn, per Entertainment Weekly.

Patricia Richardson, however, disputed his story, saying she had spoken to Thomas and he denied Allen had contacted him about a new show.

Richardson noted further that Thomas was ‘not really interested in acting’ any longer and rather ‘wants to direct and write,’ on the podcast Back to the Best.

An 18-year-old man was allegedly seen carrying a plastic container through a Georgia apartment complex before abandoning it after a witness noticed him. Inside, police reportedly found the dismembered torso of an unidentified woman.

Kingston Lammar Bradley was arrested Wednesday after officers were called to the Park Valley apartment complex in Smyrna following a missing-person report, according to a statement from the Smyrna Police Department.

A witness told investigators that Bradley spent nearly 30 minutes walking through an open area of the complex while carrying the plastic tub, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta.

Court documents allege that Bradley dropped the container onto a dirt path after realizing he was being watched, then ran to a nearby apartment.

Officers who responded to the scene opened the container and discovered a woman’s dismembered torso, though authorities have not yet identified the victim, the outlet reported.

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Investigators searching Bradley’s apartment allegedly found multiple bloodstained areas, a mop, a bucket of water, a carpet-cleaning machine, a strong smell of bleach and a large saw covered in what appeared to be blood, the warrant states.

Bradley remains jailed without bond and faces felony charges for concealing the death of another person, according to court records.

Smyrna police said detectives are continuing to interview witnesses and gather evidence, with more information expected as the investigation progresses.

A nurse is accused of assaulting a 4-month-old premature baby girl at a Michigan hospital, allegedly leaving the infant with broken bones, bruises and injuries to her tongue, according to reports.

Kieran Ansley, 43, was fired from Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids and faces multiple child abuse charges.

The baby was born four months premature and had spent months recovering in the intensive care unit. She was making progress and expected to return home in April, WOOD-TV reported.

“She was born at 23 weeks: 1 pound, 1 ounce,” the girl’s grandfather, Robert Steavens, told WOOD-TV. “And she made it through her due date, ready to go home. And then two days before she was ready to go home, this happened.”

The girl’s mother arrived at the hospital on April 2. As she neared the room, Ansley allegedly “jogged” to intercept the family and told them the infant had “slept through the night,” according to court records.

The mother then noticed that her daughter’s tongue appeared “blue and black.” She also saw several bruises that had not been present the previous night.

Court documents say Ansley responded that she had “seen this in the past and it was not a big deal.”

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During the investigation, a hospital employee said Ansley appeared “flustered” and “a little bit frustrated” that night. The former nurse was also described as “scatterbrained.”

Other staff members said Ansley appeared “heated” and “overwhelmed,” according to court records.

A staff log from the night of the alleged abuse recorded 32 entries into the baby’s room. Ansley was connected to 27 of those visits, the records show, according to the news station.

News Media contacted Ansley’s attorney and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital for comment.

Defense attorney Damian Nunzio told the outlet that Ansley has cooperated with the investigation, spent “many years” caring for ICU patients and is a “very good person.”

“And we are confident that our investigation will let the truth come to light,” Nunzio said.

Ansley was released on bond and is expected to appear in court on Nov. 10. She was fired after the allegations emerged.

The child, now 10 months old, has returned home and is “doing wonderful,” Steavens said.

“We’ve been blessed, and we’ve watched the baby grow,” he added. “We’re trusting in God and healing as a family and trusting the process will move forward.”

Melania Trump showcased her distinctive fashion sense as she accompanied her husband, President Donald Trump, to the state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The 56-year-old First Lady welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, at the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday evening in a striking monochrome look.

Once again, Melania chose not to wear a traditional gown for the black-tie event.

Instead, she wore a $2,300 button-up blouse by Saint Laurent, featuring an oversized bow at the neckline.

She teamed the blouse with $1,945 embossed high-waisted trousers and a $1,345 silk cummerbund, both from Dolce & Gabbana.

Her honey-colored hair was swept back from her face, while black pointed-toe Christian Louboutin heels and diamond stud earrings completed the ensemble.

Melania’s preference for wearing trousers at major public events has previously attracted considerable scrutiny.

However, San Diego-based personal stylist and image consultant Cynthia Kennedy previously told the Daily Mail that the First Lady’s clothing choices project an image of someone who is “independent” and “rebellious.”

“She’s not doing what people expect. She’s not wearing safe, dull, traditional First Lady fashion,” Kennedy told the Daily Mail in April.

“She’s wearing what SHE wants, from her favorite designers – mostly European luxury brands like Dolce & Gabbana – and she’s making it clear that this job is something she’s doing on her own terms,” Kennedy added.

“What she’s doing may not necessarily be modern, but it is strategic.

“She’s showing that she’s on a completely different playing field and follows her own rules. She’s not interested in dressing for any role,” Kennedy said.

The Trumps hosted the Chinese delegation in the East Room, where both presidents were scheduled to deliver remarks during the state dinner.

Senior Cabinet officials and American business leaders also attended, including executives from Apple, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Tesla and other major companies.

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The lavish black-tie gathering was expected to be among the administration’s most high-profile evenings, creating a glamorous setting for easing longstanding geopolitical tensions with China.

Melania’s office said it personally coordinated the evening’s elaborate decor in the East Room, transforming it with red linens, Reagan-era vermeil and overflowing urns of crimson dahlias. The First Lady said the design “draws on the color red’s longstanding cultural significance throughout Chinese history.”

The dinner also featured several performances, with military musicians and inauguration tenor Christopher Macchio providing a grand musical backdrop as the leaders and their guests dined.

Inside the dining room, guests are raising glasses of Schramsberg ‘Blanc De Noir’ for a symbolic toast, reviving the historic 1972 ‘Toast to Peace’ between Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai in China.

White House chefs fused classic American ingredients with subtle Asian flavors across a lavish multi-course menu.

Xi arrived at Trump’s presidential airport, Joint Base Andrews, for a welcome ceremony on Wednesday evening. 

Trump personally greeted Xi at the airport ceremony despite the Chinese president not welcoming the US president at the airport during his trip to Beijing.

‘He decided to do it because they have a great relationship,’ First Lady Melania Trump said previously, ‘and we need to welcome them with the most respect.’

Earlier today, the Trumps welcomed Xi and his wife Madame Peng to the White House with an arrival ceremony on the State Floor before a military review in the Rose Garden and subsequent bilateral meetings.

But tonight’s state dinner is not the final event of the visit.

On Friday, the Trumps will host the first couple of China for tea at the White House before doing a tour of the National Archives, where they will view key US founding documents.

Xi and Madame Peng will then depart from Joint Base Andrews.