Iran’s Future Not Dependent on Success of Nuclear Deal, Khamenei Says

Iran’s future should not be dependent on the success or failure of negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement with the world powers, the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told senior officials on Tuesday, according to state television. Khamenei said that the negotiations, reported to be stalled for the last month over a few remaining issues on which both Iran and the United States blame the other side for intransigence, “are progressing well,” but added that the officials “absolutely do not wait for nuclear negotiations in planning for the country and move forward.” He also called on his country’s negotiators to remain steadfast in “resisting America’s excessive demands.” Some of Iran’s demands include removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US terror list and an American promise that there will be no repeat of former US President Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the deal.