Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatolá Ali Khamenei, said Tuesday that it was unlikely that nuclear conversations with the United States generate results, amid a diplomatic confrontation about the enrichment activities of the Islamic Republic.
“We do not believe that it leads to any results. We do not know what will happen,” Khamenei said during a speech, adding that denying the right to Iran to enrich Uranium was “a big mistake.”
Iran and the United States have held four rounds of nuclear conversations mediated by Omaria since April 12, the highest level contact between the two enemies since Washington left the 2015 nuclear agreement.
The two parties had confirmed plans to celebrate another round of discussions during the last meeting on May 11, which Tehran described as “difficult but useful”, while an American official said that Washington was “encouraged.”
Currently, Iran enriches the uranium at 60 percent, well above the 3.67pc limit established in the 2015 Agreement, but below the 90pc necessary for a nuclear eye.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Iran insists that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran has repeatedly insisted that his right to maintain uranium enrichment was “non -negotiable”, while the US chief negotiator. Steve Witkoff called him a “red line.”
On Sunday, Witkoff reiterated that the United States “cannot even allow one percent of an enrichment capacity.”
“If the United States is interested in guaranteeing that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, an agreement is available and we are ready for a serious conversation to achieve a solution that always guarantees that result,” said Iran Foreign Minister and the main negotiator Abbas Araghchi.
“However, enrichment in Iran will continue with or without an agreement,” he said in an X publication.
‘Maximum pressure’
Iranian diplomats have said that Tehran would be open to temporary restrictions on how much uranium enriches and at what level.
Since he returned to office in January, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Iran.
By supporting nuclear diplomacy, he also warned about the possible military action if he fails.
In recent days, Trump issued a warning that “something bad will happen” unless the Iranians “move quickly” towards an agreement.
He previously said that the United States was “approaching” an agreement with Iran that would avoid military action.
However, Iranian officials criticized what they described as “contradictory” positions by US officials along with the continuous imposition of sanctions aimed at the oil industry and Iran’s nuclear program despite the conversations.
On Sunday, Araghchi said that Tehran has been observing “dissonance … among what our American interlocutors say in public and private.”
