Iranian supreme chief says difficulty of uranium enrichment stays key to Tehran’s pursuit of vitality independence.
Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has pledged that Tehran is not going to abandon its uranium enrichment, rejecting a key demand in a United States proposal geared toward resolving a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The feedback had been delivered in a speech on Wednesday because the US and Iran proceed to barter the main points of a potential new nuclear deal. The problem of uranium enrichment has remained a sticking level within the talks, with the US reportedly demanding a whole halt or low-level enrichment in alternate for the lifting of Western sanctions towards Tehran.
“The US nuclear proposal contradicts our nation’s perception in self-reliance and the precept of ‘We Can,’” Khamenei mentioned in his speech delivered on the commemoration of the loss of life of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.
Khamenei mentioned the difficulty of uranium enrichment remained key to Iran’s pursuit of vitality independence.
“Independence means not ready for the inexperienced gentle from America and the likes of America,” he mentioned, including that the US proposal was “one hundred pc towards” the beliefs of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
He mentioned Tehran wouldn’t search Washington’s approval for its selections.
“Some individuals suppose that rationality means bowing all the way down to America and surrendering to the oppressive energy; this isn’t rationality,” Khamenei mentioned.
“Why are you interfering in whether or not Iran ought to have enrichment or not? You can not have a say.”
On Monday, the Reuters information company had reported that Tehran was poised to reject the newest US proposal to finish a decades-old nuclear dispute, quoting an unnamed diplomat as saying the proposal was a “non-starter” that fails to melt Washington’s stance on uranium enrichment or to deal with Tehran’s pursuits.
Tehran mentioned it desires to grasp nuclear expertise for peaceable functions and has lengthy denied accusations by Western powers that it’s in search of to develop nuclear weapons.
US envoy Steve Witkoff, who heads the American delegation in talks with Iran, has mentioned President Donald Trump opposes Tehran persevering with any enrichment, calling it a “pink line”.
A leaked United Nations report exhibits that Iran has ramped up manufacturing of enriched uranium near weapons-grade by 50 percent within the final three months. It’s nonetheless quick, nevertheless, of the roughly 90 p.c required for atomic weapons, however nonetheless considerably above the 4 p.c or so wanted for energy manufacturing.
Iran, nevertheless, has rejected the newest report from the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), saying it’s “politically motivated and repeates baseless accusations”.