Tehran: Signaling it might reject new talks with its longtime rival, the US, Iran’s supreme leader declared Saturday that calls for negotiations by ‘coercive’ governments are not aimed at resolving issues but are merely tools for exerting dominance. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his stance clear on X, stating, ‘Some coercive governments insist on negotiations. Such negotiations aren’t aimed at solving issues. Their aim is to exert their dominance and impose what they want.’
According to Anadolu Agency, Khamenei further addressed a gathering of senior government and military officials in Tehran, as reported by the state-run news agency IRNA. He emphasized that ‘The Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly not accept their expectations.’ He asserted that, for coercive governments, negotiations serve as a means to impose new demands, which Iran will not fulfill.
Khamenei pointed out the demands made on Iran’s defense and international capabilities, criticizing them as unreasonable. ‘They make new demands regarding the country’s defense capabilities and international capabilities, telling us not to do this, not to meet that person, not to go there, not to produce this, and to limit the range of our missiles to a certain extent. How could anyone accept such things?’ he remarked on X.
The backdrop of these statements is the history of Iran sometimes balking at the requirements of its scuttled nuclear deal with Western nations. On Friday, US President Donald Trump hinted at potential future actions involving Iran, either through negotiating a new nuclear deal or pursuing another unspecified option, which is likely a reference to military action. Trump had unilaterally withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
The agency also reported Khamenei’s criticism of European parties to the nuclear deal for charging Iran with not fulfilling its commitments. ‘You say Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments. Well, did you fulfill yours?’ he challenged.
Senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, have supported this stance. Aragchi, in a Friday interview in Saudi Arabia, stated, ‘As long as the US policy of maximum pressure and threats continues, we will not enter into direct negotiations with the US.’