Newsman: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Iran will not be bullied into negotiations.
At a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Khamenei said Washington’s aim was to “impose their own expectations,” Iranian state media reported.
“The insistence of some bullying governments on negotiations is not to resolve issues. … Talks for them is a pathway to have new demands, it is not only about Iran’s nuclear issue. … Iran will definitely not accept their expectations,” Khamenei was quoted as saying, without directly mentioning Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump just a day before said, he had sent a letter to the country’s top authority urging Tehran to negotiate a nuclear deal.
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump said, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Khamenei, who has the last say on Iran’s key policies, said there was “no other way to stand against coercion and bullying”.
“They are bringing up new demands that certainly will not be accepted by Iran, like our defense capabilities, missile range and international influence,” he was quoted as saying.
Tehran says its nuclear work is solely for peaceful purposes. Its ballistic missile program is purely defensive, it is seen in the West as a destabilizing factor in a volatile, conflict-ridden Middle East.
Tehran has in recent months announced new additions to its conventional weaponry, such as its first drone carrier and an underground naval base amid rising tensions with the U.S. and Israel.
In response to Khamenei’s comments, White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said,
“We hope the Iran Regime puts its people and best interests ahead of terror,” Hughes said in a statement.
During his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark deal between Iran and major powers that had placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits.
