Iran’s supreme leader rejects ‘negotiations with the enemy’, renews ban on talks with US
- He described the two countries as implacable foes on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran
- Relations between the pair have reached a crisis over the past year after Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact
“One way to block America’s political infiltration is to ban any talks with America. It means Iran will not yield to America’s pressure,” Khamenei, who is Iran’s top authority, was quoted by state TV as saying.
“Those who believe that negotiations with the enemy will solve our problems are 100 per cent wrong,”
Washington has reimposed sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports, saying it seeks to force Iran to negotiate to reach a wider deal. Khamenei has banned Iranian officials from holding such talks unless the US returns to the nuclear deal and lifts all sanctions.
The anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy soon after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution is marked in Iran with annual demonstrations of crowds chanting “Death to America” across the country.
“The US has not changed since decades ago … it continues the same aggressive, vicious behaviour and the same international dictatorship,” Khamenei said. “Iran has a firm, iron will. It will not let America return to Iran.”
“The French president, who says a meeting will end all the problems between Tehran and America, is either naive or complicit with America,” Khamenei said in remarks reported by state television.