File closed: Why Iran's nuclear program must never return to the negotiating table

By Amin Mohammadi

For decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran engaged in nuclear diplomacy with the United States in good faith because it had nothing to hide about its peaceful nuclear program.

Time and again, the successive governments in Tehran entered negotiations with the United States – on the nuclear file – only to be met with bad faith, broken promises, and escalating pressure, in the form of military belligerence and draconian sanctions.

The lesson, written in the blood of martyrs, is now undeniable: trusting the US has never helped Iran. In return for Iranian goodwill, Washington has launched unprovoked wars, imposed crippling sanctions, and used every agreement as a pretext for renewed aggression.

The nuclear issue is the clearest example. And the words of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, stand as a prophetic record of why talks with the US serve no purpose for the Islamic Republic and its people.

The JCPOA's broken promise

On November 23, 2016, nearly a year after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, took effect, Ayatollah Khamenei addressed a gathering of Basij members in Tehran with a clear warning that still echoes loudly.

His message to both Iranian officials and the broader public was clear: the nuclear agreement must not be allowed to become a recurring tool of pressure wielded by the enemy against the Iranian nation.

"We must not allow it to be used as a means of pressure," he said, knowing fully well the consequences of trusting the enemy that does not understand the language of diplomacy.

He reminded the audience that officials had originally justified the agreement as a necessary step to lift unjust and illegal sanctions imposed on the Iranian nation. Yet even after eight or nine months, key promises remained unfulfilled.

"What they promised to do back then, which was supposed to be done on the very first day, has still not been fully implemented and remains incomplete," he said, noting that even those directly involved in the negotiations had openly acknowledged this shortfall.

In a striking biblical and Quranic reference, he said: "If someone, imitating the weak spirits of the Children of Israel, says, 'Indeed, we are overtaken' – meaning they will catch up to us and destroy us – then we, in emulation of Prophet Moses, declare: 'No! Indeed, my Lord is with me; He will guide me.'"

That speech was both a critique of the JCPOA's failed implementation and a rebuke to those who believed external pressure, including sanctions, could break Iran's resolve.

Just three months later, on February 15, 2017, Ayatollah Khamenei addressed the people of East Azerbaijan Province with a sharp critique of how the US and its allies wield the threat of war as a political weapon against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Both during the previous US administration and the current one, one of the enemy's tricks has been to constantly threaten war – saying that 'the military option is on the table' and so on," the Leader said.

He then revealed a telling anecdote. A European official had reportedly told Iranian negotiators that war against Iran was inevitable – that had it not been for the JCPOA, military war would have certainly broken out.

Final verdict: Imposition, not negotiation

On September 22, 2025, in one of his final public addresses, the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution delivered a clear assessment of America's true intentions.

"America's demand is not negotiation; it is imposition and bullying," Ayatollah Khamenei declared. "No honorable nation and no wise statesman will accept this."

The statement, precise and calculated, cut to the heart of decades of tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US, rooted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and its aftermath.

For the Leader, the American approach had never been about genuine diplomacy or mutual understanding. It was about coercion dressed in diplomatic language – maximalist demands presented as offers, ultimatums disguised as invitations to talk.

By framing US policy as fundamentally incompatible with honor and wisdom, Ayatollah Khamenei drew a clear line: any nation that submits to such bullying sacrifices not only its interests but its dignity. No one worthy of the name would lead his country down that path.

After what we witnessed in the 40 days, from the Leader’s assassination on February 28 to April 8, when the American side agreed to Iran's ten-point proposal, it has once again become clear to all and sundry – you can trust Americans at your own risk and prestige.

After the 40-day war of aggression that has so far claimed the lives of over 3,300 Iranians – the war that came in the middle of indirect nuclear talks – the nuclear file is effectively closed. Iran proved its goodwill time and again, but the opposite side failed to reciprocate.

Iran's nuclear capability today is the fruit of decades of tireless effort, sacrifice, and the lives of the country's devoted scientists, martyred by the same war machine. It is the foundation for national progress and prosperity through the peaceful benefits of nuclear technology.

The martyred Leader, speaking on September 22 of last year, said the only path for the country's advancement is to grow strong. That strength is rooted in the scientific progress that Iran has made since 1979, despite devastating sanctions.

To demand that Iran abandon its nuclear program or reduce enrichment to zero is not the language of a party that just lost a major war and had to beg for a ceasefire.

As the martyred Leader said on May 20 last year, the enemy's claim that "We will not allow Iran to enrich uranium" is "absolute nonsense."

"We do not wait for anyone's permission. The Islamic Republic has its own policies and approaches, and it will follow them," he affirmed in unmistakably firm language.

The Islamic Republic will never haggle over this national asset. Every round of nuclear negotiations in the past has resulted only in the erosion of Iran's legitimate rights, followed by unprovoked and unjustifiable wars, more sanctions, and more bullying.

Iran has drawn its lessons. The nuclear file will no longer be on any negotiating table.

A word on rights and realities

Those unnerved by Iran's nuclear enrichment program must understand that the Islamic Republic claims its rights under Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for energy purposes – unlike rogue regimes such as Israel, which refuses to join the treaty and possesses undeclared nuclear arsenals.

It is also imperative to understand that the decision to scale up uranium enrichment from 3.67 percent (as stipulated in the 2015 nuclear deal) came a year after the same megalomaniac president, in a unilateral and illegal move, pulled his country out of the landmark agreement in May 2018, followed by the reinstatement of the heaviest sanctions.

The multiple rounds of talks between Tehran and Washington, mediated by different parties, failed to produce a breakthrough because of the US policy of procrastination. The nuclear issue was only a pretext to punish the country that refuses to be subservient to US hegemony. And that will never happen.

Trusting the US has never served Iran. It has only proved counter-productive. The martyred Leader's words – spanning nearly a decade – form a powerful and irrefutable indictment of American diplomacy, which is not diplomacy, but bullying in a suit.

Iran has heard the threats, braved the sanctions, and buried its martyrs. It will not return to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue – not because it fears talks, but because it has finally understood that the US has never once come to the table in good faith.

The nuclear file is effectively closed. Iran's path forward is one of strength, self-reliance, and unwavering adherence to its rights. No amount of pressure will change that.

Amin Mohammadi is a Tehran-based political analyst and writer.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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