Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirmed Monday that his country will not stop enriching uranium even if it means an end to the nuclear talks with the United States. He called US demands for Tehran to stop uranium enrichment “excessive and outrageous.”
Speaking at a ceremony marking the death last year of President Ebrahim Raisi, Khamenei said, “I have a notice for the other side. Saying things like ‘We will not allow Iran to enrich uranium’ is nonsense.
“No one is waiting for others’ permission,” Khamenei said. “The Islamic Republic has its own policies and methods and will pursue them,” he emphasized.
The Supreme Leader was pessimistic that the negotiations would end with an agreement that would prevent military action.
“We don’t think talks will bring results,” he said. “We don’t know what will happen.”
The issue of Iran’s uranium enrichment is a red line for all concerned, including the United States and Israel, which continues to watch with increasing concern from the sidelines.
Four rounds of talks mediated by Oman have been held between the US and Iran, albeit indirectly, since April 12, with a fifth round reportedly set to be held in Europe in the coming days.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was blunt in saying Washington will not agree to a deal that allows Iran to continue uranium enrichment at any level.
“We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff said during an interview earlier this week on ABC’s This Week program.
“Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that, because enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here,” he added.
Iranian leaders have repeatedly declared the United States is “the enemy” as well as Israel; the Supreme Leader again threatened the Jewish State with annihilation this past Saturday.
“The Zionist regime that is a lethal, dangerous, cancerous tumor should certainly be eradicated, and it will be,” Khamenei declared.
One day earlier, President Donald Trump told reporters the US had provided Tehran with a written proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of talks.
However, he said bluntly during a meeting of the Abu Dhabi business forum, “Something bad is going to happen” if Iran does not respond promptly, adding that the issue of the Iranian nuclear threat would be dealt with “one way or another; it can be done nicely, or not nicely.”
