Ayatollah Khamenei dismisses US nuclear proposal, vows to keep enriching uranium

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that abandoning uranium enrichment was “100 per cent” against the country’s interests, rejecting a central US demand in talks to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman, which has mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain, including Iran’s insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment on its soil and Tehran’s refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium — possible raw material for nuclear bombs.

Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, said nothing about halting the talks, but said the US proposal “contradicts our nation’s belief in self-reliance and the principle of ‘We Can’”.

“The first word of the US is that Iran should not have a nuclear industry and should rely on the United States,” the Leader said in a televised speech from the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini in southern Tehran Wednesday.

“Our response to the US’ nonsense is clear: they cannot do a damn thing in this matter,” the Leader said as Iran marked the 36th anniversary of the passing of the founder of the Islamic Republic.

His remarks came after President Donald Trump outlined his administration’s position when it comes to nuclear negotiations with Iran and said Tehran will not be allowed “any enrichment of uranium.”

US media reports said Tuesday the Trump administration is proposing an arrangement that would permit “limited low-level uranium enrichment on Iranian soil for a to-be-determined period of time.”

“Under the proposal, the United States would facilitate the building of nuclear power reactors for Iran and negotiate the construction of enrichment facilities managed by a consortium of regional countries,” The New York Times wrote. “Once Iran began receiving any benefits from those promises, it would have to stop all enrichment in the country.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Uranium enrichment is the key to the nuclear issue, and the enemies have also put their fingers on enrichment.”

He cited the 1980s experience of US unreliability in providing fuel to Iran, when the United States and Europeans denied 20% enriched uranium to the Islamic Republic.

“Why are you interfering? Whether Iran has enrichment or not, what does it matter to you? Who are you? the Leader said, addressing the US.

Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran has achieved a complete nuclear fuel cycle with great efforts, adding the nuclear industry is not just for energy.

“The nuclear industry is a parent industry. Numerous scientific fields are affected by the nuclear industry.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran, with a growing, stable and authoritative political system born of a great revolution under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, surprised the Western world.

“The leader of our revolution is a great man whose presence in the world is still tangible after thirty-odd years since his passing, and the impact of his revolution is clearly visible to people around the world,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“The sharp decline in America’s position in the world is due to his presence, and hatred of Zionists is due to his revolution,” he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei touched on “a movement towards aversion to Western values” in the world, saying it is rooted in the revolution created by Imam Khomeini.

“The Islamic Revolution of Iran surprised the Western world. They did not think that a single cleric, without equipment and financial resources, could lead a nation into battle,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“They did not believe that this revolution and this Imam would be able to sweep away the Americans and the Zionists, who had dominated everything in Iran for years, and would be able to expel them from the country.”

Ayatollah Khamenei touched on all types of conspiracies against the Islamic Revolution which, he said, have no precedent in any of the known revolutions in the world.

He said the Islamic Republic has withstood all conspiracies, designs, and hostilities.

“Perhaps if we count, more than a thousand conspiracies were thwarted by the Islamic Republic, and some were also responded,” the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said.

He said Imam Khomeini protected the Islamic Revolution from the destructive scourge of emotions. He cited the French Revolution which saw emotions overcome and affect the rational goals of a social uprising.

“The result is that when emotions subside, the direction of movement for which the revolution was created changes,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The rationality of Imam Khomenei manifested in his two fundamental pillars, namely Velayat-e Faqih or the guardianship of the jurisprudent and national independence, the Leader said.

“If it were not for the Guardianship of the Jurisprudent, this revolution would have deviated from the path of religion,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

National independence, on the other hand, does not mean isolation and lack of connection with the world; it means the Iranian nation and the country stand on their own two feet.

“National independence means that the country should not wait for the green or red light from the United States and its ilk; a key element of national independence is the principle of ‘we can’,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“In the nuclear issue, the US plan is 100% against ‘we can’,” he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei touched on “the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza”, calling them astonishing.

“They are killing people with bombs and bullets. How vile, despicable, and evil can humans be! America is complicit in this crime and must be expelled from the region,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said, “If any Islamic state supports the Zionist regime in any way, eternal shame will surely remain on its forehead.”

“Governments should know that relying on the Zionist regime will not create security for any government. It is collapsing by divine decree and, God willing, will not last long,” he added.