Iran’s top cleric remains the country’s “decision-maker,” the White House said, tamping down speculation over whether the country’s newly elected president could influence talks about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

“The president’s view and our view is that the decision-maker here is the supreme leader,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “That was the case before the election, is the case today, will be the case probably moving forward.”