Leader excoriates ʻoutrageousʼ US demands in nuclear talks
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday called US demands for zero uranium enrichment in Iran "excessive and outrageous," expressing doubt about success of the ongoing nuclear talks between the two countries.
"I don't think nuclear talks with the US will bring results. We don’t know what will happen," Khamenei said in a ceremony held to commemorate the first martyrdom anniversary of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May 19, 2024.
“No one is waiting for permission from anyone. The Islamic Republic has its own policies, its own methods, and it pursues its own agenda,” the Leader underlined.
US chief negotiator in nuclear talks Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that the US administration’s “red line” in nuclear talks with Iran is that Iran cannot maintain any ability to enrich uranium.
“We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability,” Witkoff told ABC’s “This Week” program.
“Everything begins… with a deal that does not include enrichment… because enrichment enables weaponization, and we will not allow a bomb to get here,” he added.
Conflicting statements
Earlier this year, Witkoff had indicated that the US would accept Iran maintaining a limited enrichment capability, but the Trump administration has since hardened its public stance.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday repeated the US stances, saying that the Trump administration is working to reach an agreement that would allow Iran to have a civil nuclear energy program but not enrich uranium.
He admitted that achieving such a deal “will not be easy.”
Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the administration was offering an “off-ramp” for Iran to pursue prosperity and peace.
“It will not be easy, but that’s the process we’re engaged in now,” Rubio said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday criticized "positions from the United States that were inconsistent with any logic and reason."
Iran's top diplomat said these stances "have caused serious disruptions in the negotiation process."
Iranian officials have repeatedly announced that the Islamic Republic will not abandon its uranium enrichment program.
Since April 12, Iran and the US have held four rounds of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump threatening Iran with military attack if no agreement is reached.
Negotiations have gotten into the expert level – meaning the two sides are trying to see if they can reach any agreement on the details of any possible deal.
But one major sticking point remains Iran’s enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration insists Iran must give up.
Next round of talks
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday Iran has received a proposal for the next round of indirect negotiations.
“We have received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks between Iran and the US, and it is under review,” Gharibabadi.
No further details about the content or timing of the proposed negotiations have been released.
The comments come a day after a Wall Street Journal reporter said that the next round of the talks is expected to take place this weekend in Rome.