Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserted that Tehran feels no pressure to respond to a US proposal for a deal aimed to curb its nuclear program, saying US President Donald Trump's comments on the matter during his visit to the Persian Gulf region this week were "not worth responding to."
Khamenei's comment on May 17 came a day after Trump said Washington had made a proposal and that Iran must make a decision on it quickly.
"They have a proposal. More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad -- something bad is going to happen," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on May 16.
Tehran insists it has not received any proposals.
Trump has threatened military action against Iranian nuclear facilities if no agreement is reached, and he said during his four-day tour of the Middle East this week that the United States was "getting close" to a deal with Iran.
Trump withdrew the United States from a multilateral 2015 deal on Iran's nuclear program in 2018, during his first presidential term. Tehran and Washington restarted nuclear talks in April, with Oman's mediation. A fourth round of talks was held in Muscat on May 10 and while both sides have said another there will be another round of negotiations, no date has been set.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 15 that Iran was "at the threshold" of developing a nuclear weapon and that Washington was facing a critical moment with Tehran. Iran, which is enriching uranium at near weapons-grade level of 60 percent, claims its nuclear program is peaceful and says it is willing to offer assurances to the United States to allay concerns.
