A top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared this week that Iran would never suspend its nuclear activities. He did explain, however, that the regime was willing to modify how it talked about not suspending its nuclear activities. Voice of America explains via the Associated Press:

A top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says Tehran will never again suspend its nuclear activities, but that it will tone down its rhetoric. Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on nuclear and other important issues, told The Associated Press the election of Hasan Rouhani as Iran’s new president opens up new possibilities for better communication with the West.

Velayati also made it clear that Rouhani’s recent inauguration would not affect Tehran’s posture on nuclear weapons, which are controlled by the supreme leader:

In an interview published Tuesday, Velayati said final decisions on the nuclear issue are made by the supreme leader Khamenei, not the president. He said Khamenei has set the “principles” and the government has to abide by them, so Rouhani’s administration will follow “the same trend strategically as the former government.”

Velayati’s comments about Iranian nuclear activity come alongside recent revelations that Iran is making sustained advances in developing ballistic missiles. A recently published Pentagon report assessed that Tehran may develop missiles capable of striking the United States by 2015. Satellite imagery published earlier this month by Jane’s Defense Weekly indicated that Iran has built a new rocket launch site “most likely used for testing ballistic missiles.” The Iranian regime is widely suspected – including by the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog group – of having used its Parchin facility to conduct research into developing nuclear warheads.

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