Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared that appeals for discussions from “bully states” are intended to control others rather than settle disputes, following US President Donald Trump’s encouragement for him to agree to a nuclear arrangement.
Trump, in a Fox News interview this week, revealed that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, stating, “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran.”
“I said, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,’ and I think they want to get that letter – the alternative is we have to do something, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump further explained.
It’s still uncertain whether Khamenei received the correspondence, but his remarks, though not explicitly mentioning Trump, serve as a sharp dismissal of the coercion.
“The insistence on the part of some bully states on negotiations is not to resolve issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” Khamenei stated on Saturday, according to Iranian state media reports.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will definitely not accept their demands,” Khamenei emphasized during a gathering with leaders of the three governmental branches in Tehran.
In his initial term as president, Trump exited the nuclear agreement with Iran established by the Obama administration and authorized a US-directed attack on Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
Since resuming office, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” strategy against Iran, aiming to isolate the nation both economically and diplomatically.
The president has earlier expressed his desire to engage in negotiations for a fresh agreement with Iran, yet the response from Iran has been inconsistent, with Khamenei noting last month that discussions with the United States were “not smart.”
Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
Earlier this week, during a discussion with US officials in Saudi Arabia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russia has proposed its involvement in nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli