Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States would not serve Tehran's interests and would prove a "dead-end".
In a recorded message, Khamenei also said Iran would not "surrender to pressure" regarding uranium enrichment, and he reiterated Tehran's long-standing official position that it does not need nuclear weapons and has no intention of producing them.
"We have neither succumbed to pressure regarding the enrichment issue nor will we ever do so. Similarly, in any other matter, we have stood firm against pressure and will continue to do so," the official X/Twitter account of Khamenei shared.
"They came and bombed [Iranian enrichment] facilities in this and that place. But enrichment is a science, and science cannot be destroyed. Science cannot be eliminated by bombs, threats, and such things," Khamenei said in his statement.
Khamenei also explained that the US's negative stance on Iran having enrichment capabilities "is not acceptable." "What does this mean? It means they’re saying this great achievement for which our country has worked so hard should be destroyed! The Iranian nation will slap anyone who suggests such a thing and refuse to accept it," he demanded.
Iran says talks with E3 over return of UN sanctions will continue
Khamenei's speech came as Iran and European powers agreed to continue talks about Tehran's disputed nuclear program, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, following a meeting aimed at striking a last-ditch deal to avert the reimposition of UN sanctions.
The foreign ministers of France, Britain, and Germany - the so-called E3 - along with the EU's foreign policy chief, held talks with their Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"In light of the unjustified and illegal move to begin reinstating the UN Security Council’s sanctions, some ideas and proposals for continuing diplomacy were raised during the meeting, and it was agreed that consultations will continue," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement.
A French diplomat told Reuters that in the absence of progress by end of September 27, UN sanctions will be reimposed on Iran.
IAEA chief says inspectors on way to Iran in case snapback deal struck
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday a team of inspectors was on its way to Iran should Tehran and European powers reach a deal this week to avert the reimposition of international sanctions.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Grossi said there were "intense" conversations between him, Iran, European powers, and the United States to find a solution.
"We have just a few hours, days, to see whether something can be achieved, and this is the effort in which we are all embarked on," he said.