Ayatollah Khamenei: No Talk with US
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei categorically rejected the idea of talks between Tehran and Washington, saying the US seeks to make inroads into Iran through such negotiations.
Negotiating with the US is forbidden because it would bear no fruits, but would do countless harms, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a Wednesday address to a gathering of IRGC Navy commanders and personnel in Tehran.
Iran is not opposed to negotiation with other countries, European or else, Imam Khamenei stated, making it clear, however, that holding talks with the US is a different story.
Washington’s definition of talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran is paving the way for “infiltration into the country’s economic, cultural, political and security sectors,” the Supreme Leader warned.
Pointing to the nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), Ayatollah Khamenei said Americans in the course of the talks attempted to use every opportunity to infiltrate into Iran and damage the country’s national interests.
The Iranian negotiators, of course, were vigilant in the nuclear talks but Americans could anyway take a moment in some occasions to carry out their plots, the Leader pointed out.
Ayatollah Khamenei then described as “naive” those in Iran who insist on launching talks with the US.
Those people and indifferent and apathetic individuals do not care about the country’s national interests at all, the Leader noted.
Ayatollah Khamenei further emphasized the necessity for Iran’s “enhanced capabilities” in the scientific and hardware sectors through innovation.
Praising Iran’s outstanding role in the region, the Leader said Iran has been able to block the enemy’s infiltration and has also prevented the implementation of hostile plots against the region in several cases.
Imam Khamenei’s comments come against the backdrop of finalization of the text of a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as the P5+1 or E3+3).
While many consider the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) a major breakthrough in the improvement of ties between Iran and the West, the Leader has already made it clear that Tehran’s policy toward the US will remain unchanged regardless of the ultimate fate of the JCPOA.
