Iran’s Khamenei: Negotiations with US are useless
Shafaq News – Tehran
Iran has reached a high level of uranium enrichment, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei affirmed on Tuesday, dismissing negotiations with the United States as useless and harmful.
Khamenei stressed that Iran is one of ten countries with uranium enrichment technology, yet does not seek to build nuclear weapons. He rejected remarks by aides to US President Donald Trump about limiting the range of Iranian missiles, calling them arrogant and rooted in ignorance.
He pointed out that talks with Washington bring no benefit whatsoever; rather, they inflict damage on the country, including losses that cannot be compensated, as the “US goal in negotiations has always been to prevent Iran from enriching uranium,” which he described not as negotiations but as dictates and impositions.
Addressing threats of military strikes if Iran refuses to negotiate over its nuclear program, he argued that such pressure is unacceptable, affirming, “No honorable nation accepts such threats or negotiations under duress.”
Read more: Iran's Nuclear Gambit: Cooperation halted, global alarms sound
The remarks came as Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced it would suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) following European moves to reinstate UN sanctions. Britain, France, and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism on August 28, citing Tehran’s breach of the 2015 nuclear accord, with sanctions set to automatically return on September 27 unless a compromise is reached.
The UN Security Council last week rejected a draft resolution to permanently lift sanctions, leaving Iran and the European powers a narrow window to delay the process.
