‘No permission wanted’: Iran’s supreme chief Khamenei slams US nuclear calls for

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday dismissed US criticism of Tehran’s nuclear program, asserting that Iran doesn’t want permission to counterpoint uranium and calling American statements “nonsense.”

“They say, ‘We won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium.’ That’s way out of line,” Khamenei declared throughout a memorial for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash final 12 months. “No one in Iran is waiting for their permission. The Islamic Republic follows its own policies — and will stick to them.”

“For the Americans to say, ‘We won’t enable Iran to counterpoint uranium,’ is utter nonsense. We aren’t ready for anybody’s permission. The Islamic Republic has sure insurance policies, and it’ll pursue them,” Khamenei wrote on X (previously Twitter).

Khamenei’s remarks come amid ongoing oblique talks between Iran and the US, although he expressed doubt about their consequence.

“Yes, indirect negotiations were held during Raisi’s time too, just like now,” he mentioned. “But they didn’t go anywhere — and we don’t expect much from the current ones either. Who knows what will happen?”

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei instructed the state-run IRNA information company that “no definitive decision has been made about the next round of negotiations,” including that “the Islamic Republic of Iran is reviewing the matter while considering the U.S. side’s contradictory and constantly changing positions.”