Iran\u2019s supreme leader hints at possible thaw in ties if country\u2019s nuclear industry remains intact
\nDUBAI
\nIran\u2019s supreme leader said on Sunday that a deal with the West over Tehran\u2019s nuclear work was possible if the country\u2019s nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact.
\nMonths of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord with six major powers have stalled since September, with both sides accusing each other of making unreasonable demands.
\nAyatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s guarded approval comes days after both Tehran and Washington denied a report that they were nearing an interim deal under which Tehran would curb its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
\n\u201cThere is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched,\u201d Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to state media.
\nIn 2019, Iran began breaching the deal\u2019s terms in response to a U.S. withdrawal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.
\nThe 2015 agreement limited Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms, in return for lifting international sanctions.
\nIn 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump exited the pact and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran\u2019s economy, leading Tehran to gradually move well beyond the deal\u2019s nuclear restrictions and reviving U.S., European and Israeli fears that Iran may seek an atomic bomb.
\nEchoing Iran\u2019s official stance for years, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic has never sought to build a nuclear bomb.
\n\u201cAccusations about Tehran seeking nuclear weapons is a lie and they know it. We do not want nuclear arms because of our religious beliefs. Otherwise they (the West) would not have been able to stop it,\u201d said Khamenei.
\nKhamenei, who has the last say on all state matters such as Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, said the country\u2019s nuclear authorities should continue working with the U.N. nuclear watchdog \u201cunder the framework of safeguards\u201d.
\nLast month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported limited progress over disputed issues with Iran, including re-installing some monitoring equipment originally put in place under the 2015 pact that Tehran ordered removed last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran\u2019s supreme leader hints at possible thaw in ties if country\u2019s nuclear industry remains intact DUBAI Iran\u2019s supreme leader said on Sunday that a deal with the West over Tehran\u2019s nuclear work was possible if the country\u2019s nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact. Months […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-336960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n