New York: Asserting that there was 'no harm' in engaging with its 'enemy', Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved talks over the regime’s nuclear program with the United States. Iran is considered to be at the threshold of developing a nuclear weapon. The US public assessments have said that Iran may develop a bomb within months of getting the final go-ahead from Khamenei.
After former US President Donald Trump quit the 2015 nuclear deal, efforts to revive it have failed. Now, Khamenei has said that talks may be held with the United States but the 'enemy' must not be trusted. “We do not have to pin our hope to the enemy. For our plans, we should not wait for approval by the enemies. It is not contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places, there’s no barrier,” Khamenei said in a video message.
In response, the US State Department told the AP news agency: "We will judge Iran's leadership by their actions, not their words." "We have long said that we ultimately view diplomacy as the best way to achieve an effective, sustainable solution with regard to Iran's nuclear program".
After quitting the deal in 2018, Trump started the ‘maximum pressure’ strategy under which he ramped up sanctions on Iran which in turn started more nuclear enrichment. In April this year, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said that Iran is “weeks rather than months” away from having enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. Once it has the enriched material, it may develop a bomb within months.
