As European leaders warn of imminently reimposing sanctions against Iran, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stressed that Iran had no intentions of building an atomic weapon in a national address from Tehran on Tuesday.
But he also insisted there was no point in negotiating with the United States — one of the top conditions that three European countries have said would be essential for them to extend sanctions relief. Mr. Khamenei reiterated that Iran had no plans to enrich its stock of uranium to the point where it could be used for a bomb.
“Since we do not need weapons and have decided against nuclear arms, we have not gone that far,” he said.
Officials from France, Britain, and Germany have been negotiating with Iran this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Should those talks fail, the three countries plan to follow through on implementing a mechanism at the U.N. Security Council that would allow them to reimpose sanctions if Iran is not complying with the landmark 2015 agreement to limit its uranium enrichment program.
European leaders are threatening to push forward with sanctions to maintain leverage at a time when some 880 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent remain unaccounted for after Israel bombed Iran in June, starting a 12-day war between the countries, which the United States briefly joined to help Israel strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Mr. Khamenei insisted that enrichment level was “necessary for some of the tasks we need.” But he said Iran had no plans to reach the 90 percent needed for a bomb.
He said he was nonetheless opposed to reopening talks with American officials — a stance he has taken several times in the past, even as Iranian officials negotiated with Washington.
Mr. Khamenei argued “the American side has already predetermined the outcome,” citing what he said were demands by Washington that Iran not be allowed any nuclear enrichment, and that the range of its ballistic missiles be limited.
“To sit down and negotiate with a party that insists the outcome must necessarily be what it wants, what it says — can that be called negotiation?” he asked.
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