TEHRAN, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian cleric said Friday that Iran has never agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and will not do so, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Seyed Ahmad Khatami, Tehran's interim Friday prayer leader, made the remarks during prayers in the capital. He called halting enrichment an "impossible issue" raised by "some American negotiators" and said Iran would never accept such a "humiliation."
Khatami added that what he described as U.S. efforts to dictate terms would fail. He said indirect talks between Tehran and Washington are limited to the nuclear issue, and that Iran's missile program and other defense capabilities are not open to negotiation.
The comments came after a third round of U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva on Thursday, held amid heightened tensions and a U.S. military buildup in the region.
Separately, Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran's armed forces, said the military is closely monitoring U.S. and Israeli movements, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He dismissed recent threats by U.S. President Donald Trump as "bragging," and said Iran is fully prepared to defend itself. Shekarchi warned that any provocation by U.S. forces or allied groups would draw a "decisive response," adding that U.S. personnel and interests in the region would be within Iran's reach in the event of conflict. Enditem
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