• Iran's Supreme Leader vows to maintain uranium enrichment, rejecting U.S. demands.
• Trump insists on halting Iran's enrichment program as part of new nuclear negotiations.
• The U.S. has proposed a deal suggesting limited enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has firmly rejected a U.S. proposal that seeks to halt uranium enrichment, asserting that such a move is "100 percent" against the interests of the Islamic Republic. During a recent speech, Khamenei emphasized that "uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear program," and denounced U.S. officials as "rude and arrogant," claiming they seek to undermine Iran's self-reliance and technological progress, according to BBC and Newsweek.

The comments came in the wake of a U.S. proposal delivered over the weekend, which reportedly includes an arrangement that would allow Iran to conduct limited low-level uranium enrichment while addressing international concerns regarding its nuclear ambitions. Khamenei dismissed the proposal, stating, “Our response to America’s nonsense is clear: they cannot do anything about this," illustrating Iran's commitment to its nuclear activities, as reported by Reuters and TRT.

President Trump has consistently insisted that any new nuclear deal must include a complete ban on uranium enrichment, framing this as essential to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities. “Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!” he stated on social media, further complicating negotiations after five rounds of talks mediated by Oman, according to HuffPost and South China Morning Post.

Despite the ongoing tensions, Khamenei emphasized that Iran seeks to achieve energy independence through its nuclear program, stating that abandoning enrichment would be tantamount to relinquishing national self-sufficiency. “If we cannot produce this fuel domestically, we have to reach out to the United States, which may have dozens of conditions,” he noted, reiterating Iran’s long-standing position that its nuclear activities are peaceful and aimed at generating energy, as stated by India Times and Al Jazeera.