National unity foiled enemy plot

Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei has rejected Washington’s demands over nuclear negotiations, saying that accepting talks under threat is something “no honorable nation would ever do, and no wise statesman would ever endorse.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said negotiations with Washington under the current circumstances would bring “no benefit” to Iran and instead carry “serious and possibly irreparable harms.”

“Accepting negotiations under such threats would mean that the Islamic Republic of Iran is susceptible to intimidation.”

“If we were to negotiate under such threats, it would mean that we tremble and surrender whenever threatened,” the Leader said.

“If such susceptibility to threats were established, it would never end. Today, they say: if you enrich, we will do this. Tomorrow they will say: if you have missiles, we will do that … There would be endless threats, forcing us to retreat step by step.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said the United States is predetermining the outcome of any dialogue, and that Washington’s demands amount to dictation rather than negotiation.

“They have announced that the only acceptable result of negotiations is the shutdown of Iran’s nuclear activities and enrichment. So, we would sit at the table, and the outcome of the talks would be exactly what they had dictated in advance.”

“That is not negotiation,” the Leader stated, “that is dictation, that is imposition.”

“To negotiate with a party where the result must necessarily be what they want, and what they say; is that negotiation?”

The Leader pointed to recent American calls for Iran to abandon not only long-range but even short-range missiles.

The aim of such demands, Ayatollah Khamenei said, was to render Iran so weak and defenseless that it could not respond in any form if attacked.

‘Iran not to give up enrichment right’

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that Iran would never abandon its nuclear enrichment program, and vowed that the nation would resist both sanctions and military intimidation.

He criticized Washington for insisting that Iran give up enrichment altogether, calling it an attempt to erase a hard‑won national achievement.

The Leader said Iran had endured decades of pressure aimed at forcing it to abandon enrichment, but had “not surrendered and will not surrender.”

“It means that this great achievement, for which our nation has worked so hard, paid so much, endured so many difficulties, should entirely be destroyed and wasted. That is the meaning of ‘no enrichment.’ Clearly, a proud nation like Iran will reject such words outright and will not accept them,” he said.

The Leader noted that Iran is now among the only 10-strong countries worldwide with 60-percent enrichment capability, a signature scientific achievement.

“Today, in terms of uranium enrichment, we are at a high level. Of course, countries that want to build nuclear weapons take enrichment up to 90 percent purity. Since we do not need weapons and have decided against nuclear weapons, we have not taken it that far. We have raised it to 60 percent, which is a very high and very good figure, and it is necessary for some of our domestic needs.”

Ayatollah Khamenei added that dozens of leading scientists, hundreds of researchers, and thousands of trained specialists are currently active in the field.

“Science cannot be destroyed. Science does not disappear with bombs, threats, or such things. It continues to exist,” he said, referring to the unprovoked and illegal Israeli-American attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June that failed to prevent the country from continuing to pursue its peaceful nuclear activities.

‘National unity foiled enemy plot’

The Leader stated that the unity among the Iranian people during the 12-day Israeli-American war – which featured the strikes on the nuclear installations – thwarted enemy plans to destabilize the country.

“During the 12‑day war, the unity and cohesion of the Iranian people disappointed the enemy. From the early and middle days of the war, the enemy realized that it would not achieve its intended goals,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

The Leader said that foreign adversaries had sought to assassinate commanders and influential figures in hopes of sparking unrest in Tehran and elsewhere across the country.

“The enemy’s aim was not [merely] to target commanders. That was [just] a means. The enemy had thought that by targeting military commanders and some influential figures of the [country’s Islamic] establishment, unrest would erupt in the country, especially in Tehran, where their agents would provoke riots and disturbances, dragging people into the streets and creating an incident against the Islamic Republic using the people. That was the goal. The real target was, therefore, the Islamic Republic itself,” Ayatollah Khamenei remarked.

The Leader added that outside powers had prepared for “the day after” the Islamic Republic, aiming to incite street riots, organize factions, and “uproot Islam” in Iran.

However, the scheme collapsed in its very initial stages, with the martyred commanders being swiftly replaced, Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

“Replacements were appointed for them, and the structure, order, and discipline of the Armed Forces remained just as strong, with even higher morale.”

Nevertheless, it was the people, who dealt the biggest blow to the adversary’s designs, the Leader pointed out, noting how the public filled the streets not against the establishment, but against the enemy.

“The people, who were the most decisive factor, were not influenced at all by what the enemy wanted. Demonstrations did take place, the streets were filled, but against the enemy, not against the Islamic establishment,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader, meanwhile, warned that foreign actors were now trying to portray Iran’s unity as temporary and create the impression that it would fade into divisions.

Notwithstanding such campaigns, Ayatollah Khamenei stated, “the factor of national unity still remains” and must be preserved against ongoing efforts to sow discord.