Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei strongly criticized the latest U.S. proposal, which reportedly demands a complete halt to uranium enrichment, deeming it “100%” against Tehran’s interests.

The possibility of the U.S. pushing for a total ban on uranium enrichment—a process essential for both nuclear energy production and potentially weapons—arose this week. This follows a U.S. proposal, conveyed to Iran via Omani mediators on Saturday, that permitted “low levels” of enrichment.

While President appeared to contradict this in a statement this week, Khamenei, without directly addressing the proposal’s specifics, stated on Wednesday that “In the current nuclear talks that are being mediated by Oman, the U.S.’s proposal is 100% against the spirit of ‘We can’.”

“What the U.S. is demanding is that you should have no nuclear industry at all and be dependent on them,” he added.

The proposal also included a suggestion for a regional enrichment coalition that could supply Iran with the uranium needed for civilian projects, such as energy.

Iranian authorities stated this week that the coalition idea wasn’t new. While Tehran isn’t against participating in such a coalition, it wouldn’t be a sufficient substitute, even though Iran relies on nuclear energy for a portion of its energy needs.

Khamenei didn’t indicate Iran’s unwillingness to continue negotiations with the U.S., but Tehran has consistently maintained that a is unacceptable.

“A nuclear industry without enrichment capabilities is useless, because we would then be dependent on others to obtain fuel for our power plants,” he said.

The Iranian leader said on Wednesday that Iran’s has become a source of national pride, asserting, “The number of countries in the world that have achieved a complete nuclear fuel cycle is perhaps fewer than the number of fingers on a person’s two hands.”

“We’re capable of producing nuclear fuel starting from the mine and all the way to the power plant,” he added.

Iran has consistently denied any intention to develop nuclear weapons, despite its near-weapons-grade enrichment levels and missile program raising concerns among , including the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Khamenei’s remarks regarding Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon were particularly strong, further questioning Tehran’s claims that it isn’t seeking to become the tenth nuclear-armed nation.

“You Americans possess atomic bombs and have the massive destruction of the world at your disposal,” he said in a series of posts on X. “What business is it of yours whether the Iranian nation should or shouldn’t have uranium enrichment or whether it should or shouldn’t have a nuclear industry?

“Why are you interfering and trying to say whether Iran should have uranium enrichment or not? That’s none of your business,” Khamenei said.