IRAN'S supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday a US proposal for a nuclear agreement was against the national interest, amid sharp differences over whether Tehran can continue to enrich uranium.
The long-time foes have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new accord to replace the deal with major powers that US president Donald Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
On Saturday, Iran said it had received 'elements' of the US proposal through Omani mediators, the de- tails of which have not been publicly disclosed.
The proposal presented by the Americans is 100 per cent against' notions of independence and self-reliance, Khamenei said in a televised speech, invoking ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Independence means not waiting for the green light from America and the likes of America."
Iran's enrichment of uranium has emerged as a ma- jor point of contention.
Trump said on Monday his administration would not allow 'any' enrichment, despite Tehran's insistence it is its right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Khamenei said enrich- ment is 'key' to Iran's nuclear programme and that the United States 'cannot have a say' on the issue.
'If we have 100 nuclear power plants but don't have enrichment, they will be of no use to us, because 'nucle- ar power plants need fuel" to operate, he said.
'If we cannot produce this fuel domestically, we have to reach out to the United States, which may have dozens of conditions."
