Iran Will Never Suspend Uranium Enrichment
WANA (Feb 27) – Interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, said on Friday that the Islamic Republic of Iran has never accepted and will never accept the suspension of uranium enrichment, calling such a proposal “impossible” and insisting that the Iranian nation would not submit to humiliation.
Speaking during Friday prayers in Tehran, Khatami referred to the ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States and stressed that discussions are strictly limited to the nuclear issue.
“The official spokesperson of the system in the field of negotiations is the foreign minister,” he said. “However, we also have a duty to convey the demands and views of the people so that negotiators take these points into account.”
Khatami emphasized that the “line of the system” in the negotiations is clear. “Negotiations are solely about the nuclear issue and nothing else,” he said. “Missile capabilities and other defensive capacities of the country are absolutely non-negotiable.”
He reiterated that Iran would not agree to suspend uranium enrichment. “Raising the issue of suspending enrichment by some American negotiators is impossible,” he said. “The Iranian nation will not bow to humiliation.”
Criticizing what he described as the United States’ approach to the talks, Khatami said some parties enter negotiations with an “arrogant and imposing spirit,” seeking to dictate their demands to Iran. “Such an approach will lead nowhere,” he added.
Referring to remarks attributed to a representative of U.S. President Donald Trump who reportedly asked why Iran does not surrender, Khatami said the comments reflected a failure to understand the character of the Iranian nation. He described such statements as signs of “misunderstanding” that have led to frustration.
Recent Unrest and Universities
In another part of his sermon, Khatami addressed events in the country over the past month, describing them as a confrontation between an “absolute majority” and a “small minority.”
According to him, the majority of Iranians remain committed to values such as love of God, respect for the holy month of Ramadan, reverence for martyrs, and patriotism.
He alleged that a small minority had set fire to mosques, copies of the Quran, religious centers, and shrines, calling such actions the work of “savages” and “soldiers of Trump, Netanyahu and ISIS.”
He also commented on recent developments at universities, saying that incidents on campuses are not separate from broader social unrest. “The majority of students are faithful, revolutionary and committed to national and religious values,” he said, adding that a minority — some of whom he claimed had entered universities from outside — had engaged in violence.
“Universities are places for debate and scientific dialogue,” Khatami said. “They should be centers of discussion and reasoning, not conflict and violence.”
Addressing university officials, he said: “The university is a stronghold of rationality and wisdom, not a base for savagery. Those who have polluted the sacred environment of the university with violence must be dealt with decisively and within the framework of the law.”
Warning Against Campus Unrest
Khatami further argued that creating unrest in universities serves the interests of Israel.
Referring to remarks by an official from the “Israeli regime” claiming that Iran produces twice as much effective academic output, he said certain actors do not want such progress to continue. “Creating instability in universities is a service to the Zionist regime,” he concluded.
Iranian Universities See Third Day of Student Gatherings
WANA (Feb 23) – Iranian students held mourning ceremonies today to commemorate those who lost their lives during the recent (December–January) unrest, expressing solidarity with their families. The gatherings mark the continuation of a series of student-led assemblies that began two days ago at universities across the country and have now entered their third […]
