Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, believes that there is nothing wrong with a nuclear deal with the West. As talks between Tehran and Washington DC to revive Iran’s 2015 Nuclear Deal have been at a stalemate since September 2022, Khamenei said on June 11, 2023 that reaching a deal with the West over his country’s disputed nuclear work was possible, if the nuclear infrastructure of Iran remained intact.

Speaking at an event in Tehran, Khamenei stressed: “There is nothing wrong with the agreement (with the West), but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched.” He further said that Tehran was ready to continue working with the UN nuclear watchdog under the framework of safeguards.

Since talks between Iran and the US to revive Iran’s 2015 Nuclear Accord stalled in September 2022, both sides have been accusing each other of making unreasonable demands. In 2019, Iran reportedly breached terms of the deal in response to the US’ withdrawal from the pact in 2018 under the then US President, Donald Trump. The Trump Administration walked away from the deal in 2018, claiming that it allowed Tehran too much space for nuclear research. However, President Joe Biden resumed talks in April 2021.

Meanwhile, both Iran and the US denied a report on June 8, 2023 according to which they were nearing an interim deal, as Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in return for relief from trade sanctions. It may be noted that Iran, China and Russia want to resume a 2015 Nuclear Deal that would have allowed regular UN inspections of the Iranian nuclear sites in exchange for the lifting of hard-hitting trade sanctions.

The Iranian Nuclear Agreement limited the West Asian nation’s uranium enrichment activity in an attempt to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms. Commenting on this issue, Khamenei stated that his country has never planned to make a nuclear bomb. “Accusations about Tehran seeking nuclear weapons are 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,” added Khamenei.

Addressing an annual speech marking the death of his predecessor and the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a couple of months ago, the Supreme Leader had said: “Some people are mistaken to think if we back down from our stances in certain cases that will cause the enmity of the US, the global arrogance, or Israel toward us to diminish. This is a mistake.“

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das