Iran’s top leader on Friday rejected negotiations with the United States, saying that he was “intelligent, wise and honorable” after President Donald Trump proposed nuclear talks with Tehran.
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Iran was ready to negotiate with the US, but it wasn’t under US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy, Tehran’s chief diplomat proposed on Saturday.
“While the sanctions will need negotiations, they are not within the framework of the “maximum pressure” policy. Because it is a form of surrender, not negotiations,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi said in a statement released on Telegram.
On Friday, Iran’s top leader said negotiations with the US were “intelligent, wise or honorable” after President Donald Trump came to light in nuclear talks with Tehran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also proposed that “there should not be any negotiations with such government,” but stopped issuing direct orders to prevent him from engaging in Washington.
Khamenei’s remarks support a months-long signal from Tehran to the US that they want to negotiate a rapidly moving forward nuclear program in exchange for lifting billions of dollars in sanctions. Following Khamenei’s comments, Iranian rial sank to a record low of 872,000 rials, reaching $1 in aftermarket trading.
What will happen next remains unknown, especially as reformist president Masuud Pezeschkian promised to have a dialogue with the West on Thursday.
Khamenei’s comments about Tehran’s air officers appear to contradict his own previous remarks in August, which opened the door for discussion. However, the 85-year-old Khamenei has always been careful about his comments about negotiations with the West. It involves balancing the demands of domestic reformers who want consultations over the hardline elements within Iran’s theocracy, including the paramilitary revolutionary security forces.
Khamenei pointed out that Trump unilaterally withdraws from previous nuclear deals, which has significantly restricted uranium enrichment and overall stockpiling of materials, in exchange for the removal of sanctions.
“The Americans didn’t support the end of the deal,” Khamenei said. “The very person in office today tore the contract apart. He said he would, and he did.”
He added: “This is an experience we have to learn. We negotiated, made concessions, compromised, but we didn’t achieve the outcome we aimed for, and we also had to do with all of that flaws. Despite this, the other side ultimately violated the agreement and destroyed it.”
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