Iran’s supreme leader dismisses initial offers being made at talks in Vienna aimed at saving Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. He describes them as “not worth looking at” after an attack on an atomic site in his country.
The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in the Islamic Republic, come as informal talks in Vienna continue ahead of a planned formal round of negotiations.
The talks already have been thrown into disarray by a weekend attack on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site suspected to have been carried out by Israel. Tehran retaliated by announcing it would enrich uranium up to 60%.
In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 14, 2021 (Office of the Iranian supreme leader via AP)
“The offers they provide are usually arrogant and humiliating [and] are not worth looking at,” Khamenei says in an address marking the first day of Ramadan in Iran.
While saying he remains positive about Iran’s negotiators, he criticizes the US and warns time could be running out. “The talks shouldn’t become talks of attrition,” Khamenei says. “They shouldn’t be in a way that parties drag on and prolong the talks. This is harmful to the country.”
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Wednesday, April 14, 2021
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