Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday blasted the US as “arrogant” as he effectively rejected a revised nuclear deal that would allow Tehran to continue low-level uranium enrichment.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei argued that abandoning uranium enrichment was “100%” against the country’s interests and “can do spirit” — as he ripped a central US demand amid talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“The proposal that the Americans have presented is 100% against our interests … The rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear program. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?” he said in a televised speech.
Khamenei’s remarks come just days after the US presented Iran with the proposal for a new nuclear deal.
The proposal outline, first reported Monday by Axios, was submitted Saturday by White House special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
It would allow Iran to continue enriching uranium domestically, but only for civilian use.
Tehran will also have to temporarily reduce its enrichment concentration to 3% — well below weapons-grade levels of 90%.
After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain — including Iran’s insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment on its soil.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, stopped short of saying the talks should be halted.
He did, however, say the latest proposal “contradicts our nation’s belief in self-reliance and the principle of ‘We Can.’”
“Uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear program, and the enemies have focused on the enrichment,” Khamenei said.
“If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us,” he added. “If we do not have enrichment, then we should extend our hand [begging] to the US.”
President Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran ever since he returned to the White House in January – moves that include tightening sanctions and threatening to bomb Iran if the negotiations yield no deal.
Trump wants to curtail Tehran’s potential to produce a nuclear weapon that could trigger a regional nuclear arms race and potentially threaten Israel.
Iran, for its part, wants to be rid of devastating sanctions and has, as recently as Monday, insisted it will not give up its efforts.
“Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer,” a senior Tehran diplomat told Reuters.
With Post wires
