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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was giving a speech marking the anniversary of the 1989 death of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/AP via CNN Newsource)
By Mostafa Salem and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN
(CNN) — Iran’s supreme leader has denounced a proposal by the United States aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear efforts and demanded that his country retain independence amid reports of Washington offering to become involved in Tehran’s nuclear program.
Despite several rounds of talks between the two sides to thrash out a new nuclear deal major sticking points remain, with Iran insisting on its right to nuclear enrichment.
“The first word of the US is that Iran should not have a nuclear industry and should rely on the United States,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a crowd gathered in Tehran to commemorate the death of Imam Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s Islamic Republic.
“Our response to the US’ nonsense is clear: they cannot do a damn thing in this matter,” he said.
The US sent a nuclear deal proposal to Iran on Saturday. CNN has learned this suggests the US could invest in Iran’s civilian nuclear power program and join a consortium that would oversee the enrichment of low-level uranium inside Iran for an unspecified amount of time. That potential consortium would be expected to include Middle Eastern nations and the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Khamenei said Wednesday that Iran is refusing to allow the United States to give a “green or red light” with its nuclear program and stressed on “national independence.”
A senior Iranian official told CNN on Monday that the US proposal is “incoherent and disjointed, very unrealistic, and with excessive demands.”
US President Donald Trump said on Monday, seemingly contrary to what was proposed to Iran, that the deal will not allow uranium enrichment.
“Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Iran’s supreme leader added on Wednesday that his country has been “able to achieve a complete nuclear energy cycle,” a feat only achieved by a few countries.
“Uranium enrichment is an essential part of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, and we will not abandon it,” Khamenei said.
Iran and the US concluded a fifth round of high-stakes nuclear talks in Rome on May 23 amid growing skepticism in Tehran about the chances of a deal. After that round of discussions, the two sides “agreed to meet again in the near future,” a senior US administration official said at the time.
Previous reporting by Kylie Atwood and Frederik Pleitgen.
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