DUBAI, June 4. /TASS/. Refusing uranium enrichment would render the Iranian atomic industry ineffective and make the country dependent on other nations, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said.
"The atom industry is useless without the ability to enrich uranium. In that case, we would have to beg for help in building nuclear power plants. It's like having oil but not being able to process it on your own territory. You have oil, but you have to buy gasoline from others," the supreme leader pointed out.
According to Khamenei, the atomic industry allows Iran to achieve significant results in other areas, including pharmaceuticals. He added that the US and other countries are not interested in Iran's progress and have put forward conditions presupposing a complete halt of uranium enrichment on Iranian territory. The supreme leader also pointed out that all Washington’s proposals at the Oman-mediated talks clash with Iranian principles.
On June 1, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that US special envoy Steve Witkoff had sent the Iranian authorities a comprehensive and acceptable proposal to resolve disagreements over Tehran’s nuclear program. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ismail Baghaei, the US side has not yet presented Iran with guarantees of lifting anti-Iranian sanctions within the framework of a potential deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
On May 23, Iranian and US representatives held the fifth round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program in Rome. Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, who is mediating between the two sides, reported that "some, but not final, progress" had been made. After the consultations, his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran and Washington are preparing for a new round of talks and hope to achieve positive results in one or two meetings.