Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Nuclear Deal With The West Is Not Wrong, But...

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Wikimedia Commons/Khamenei.ir)

JAKARTA - Iran's supreme leader said on Sunday the deal with the West on Tehran's nuclear matter was possible if the country's nuclear infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive the 2015 Nuclear Deal.

Indirect talks over the months between Tehran and Washington to save the nuclear agreement with six major countries have stalled since September, with both sides accusing each other of making unreasonable demands.

Ayatollah's approval Ali Khamenei comes days after Tehran and Washington denied reports they were close to reaching a temporary agreement, in which Tehran will curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

"There's nothing wrong with the deal (with the West), but our nuclear industry infrastructure shouldn't be touched," Khamenei said, according to state media.

The 2015 nuclear deal restricted Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it difficult for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons, in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

In 2018, President Donald Trump took the United States out of the agreement, reimposing sanctions that had crippled Iran's economy, resulting in Tehran gradually moving far beyond the nuclear restrictions in the agreement and reviving US, European and Israeli concerns over possible atomic bomb manufacturing.

Repeating Iran's official stance over the years, Khamenei said the Tehran government had never attempted to make a nuclear bomb.

"The accusation that Tehran is looking for nuclear weapons is a lie and they know it. We don't want nuclear weapons because of our religious beliefs. Otherwise, they (Western) won't be able to stop them," Khamenei stressed.

Khamenei, who has the final say in all state issues such as Iran's nuclear program, said the country's nuclear authorities should continue to cooperate with the United Nations nuclear watchdog "under a security framework".

However, Khamenei called on Iranian authorities "not to give up on "excessive and false demands" from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)", adding that laws passed by the Iranian Parliament in 2020 should be respected.

Under the law, Tehran will suspend IAEA's inspection of its nuclear sites and increase uranium enrichment if sanctions are not lifted.

"This is a good law... that must be respected and not violated in providing access and information (to the IAEA)," Khamenei said.

As previously reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month reported limited progress on issues disputed with Iran, including reinstalling some of the monitoring equipment originally installed under the 2015 pact ordered by Tehran to be removed last year.