Iran Reiterated it Won’t Compromise on its Nuclear Policy. It is Also Working With Russia in a New Deal.

Iran is working with Russia toward an agreement to jointly develop modular nuclear reactors as its policy remains at the center of hostilities with the United States.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson and deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the countries are in the “process of signing a protocol with the Russian side to accelerate their joint construction.”

Tehran has reiterated its reluctance to make nuclear concessions, with a senior official recently telling Reuters that it remains unchanged and won’t show any flexibility there.

The remarks are part of a report claiming that Tehran dismissed the latest proposal by Qatari mediators to end the war with the U.S., saying it only included “unacceptable ideas” that did not amount to an offer.

In this context, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors referred Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council for the first time in two decades.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at Tuesday’s UN Security Council meeting that Tehran continues refusing to give international inspectors access to its damaged nuclear facilities, hit last year during the war with Israel and the U.S.

Grossi went on to say that the IAEA will continue working with Tehran to clarify unresolved matters and that any path toward solving disputes must include inspections from the watchdog.

The development comes after Fars news agency, closely linked with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is urging for faster technological progress, including in the nuclear area.

Khamenei claimed that the “experience of the two recent wars has demonstrated to everyone that this new scientific surge must be deep and rapid,” the outlet added.

The reported remarks come days after an Iranian lawmaker appeared to suggest that Khamenei could be more open to pursuing a nuclear weapon than his father, Ali Khamenei.

“From Mojtaba Khamenei’s conduct, my understanding is that his fatwa will be different,” Ahmad Naderi said, in reference to the doctrine from Ali Khamenei claiming Iran would not seek a nuclear weapon due to religious motives.

Elsewhere, another report detailed that the United States has warned Gulf allies to prepare for a return to full-fledged hostilities in Iran

The campaign is set to take place after the midterm elections next week, The Wall Street Journal noted, and of a short and intense nature.