Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
Tehran … News Time
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has said that the initial proposals put forward in the ongoing talks in Vienna to save the nuclear deal with Iran are not worth considering. According to the Associated Press, Iran’s supreme leader is trying to put pressure on world powers following the attack on the Natanz nuclear center, Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility. In his speech at the start of Ramadan, Iran’s supreme leader said that the proposals put forward by the world powers are usually insulting and arrogant, and are not worthy of consideration. He criticized the United States and warned that time was running out. Ayatollah Khamenei said the talks should not be tiring. It should not be such that the parties continue to drag it out and prolong it. He said it was detrimental to the country.
Prior to the statement by Iran’s Supreme Leader, who is the final word in all Iranian affairs, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had expressed similar views on the nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that his country had decided to enrich uranium to 60 percent in response to an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Addressing a cabinet meeting, the Iranian president pointed to Western powers as “the answer to your evil.” Earlier, Iran was enriching uranium to 20%.In addition to raising the level of enrichment; President Rouhani said that the IR-1 generation centrifuges, which were damaged in the attack, would now be replaced by state-of-the-art IR-6 generation centrifuges. He then pointed to the Western powers, saying they wanted our hands empty during the talks but our hands were full. Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for the Natanz attack and warned that a full response would be given. However, he did not elaborate on Iran’s response.
In Jerusalem, during a Memorial Day memorial service, the Israeli prime minister, apparently referring to Iran, said that we should never be indifferent to war and that those who want to wipe us out should be uprooted. Don’t be fooled. However, Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for the attack. On Wednesday, however, the Iranian president also expressed hope that the ongoing talks in Vienna would lead to a negotiated solution to Iran’s nuclear program, and the lifting of sanctions. As part of a nuclear deal with Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Wednesday expressing deep concern over recent statements by Iran to raise uranium enrichment levels. China and Russia are also part of the agreement. Iran’s rival in the region, Saudi Arabia, has also issued a statement saying that this level of enrichment could not be for peaceful purposes. Saudi Arabia has urged Iran to refrain from escalating further tensions for the sake of security and stability in the region and to take the ongoing talks seriously.
