Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (File photo: Reuters)

The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman, which has mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.

After five rounds of talks, several hard-to-bridge issues remain, including Iran's insistence on maintaining uranium enrichment on its soil and Tehran's refusal to ship abroad its entire existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Khamenei said nothing about halting the talks, but said the US proposal contradicts Iran’s belief in self-reliance and the principle of 'We Can'". Uranium enrichment is the key to Iran’s nuclear program, he noted.