TEHRAN – When senior diplomats Emirati arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and delivered a letter from the US president to Ayatollah Seiyed Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution said Iran would not negotiate with Washington, and once again pointing out that the US is backing the contract again. Why Iran sits with Americans.
The JCPOA, signed in 2015, restricted Iran’s nuclear activity in exchange for the end of sanctions. Donald Trump left his contract in 2018 during his first term as US president, reimposed sanctions against Iran, bolstering them under what he called the “maximum pressure campaign.” Trump said he wants a new nuclear deal with Iran. This is a recurring sentiment when I signed up for the campaign update at the beginning of the second season in February.
“The fact that the US President claims he is ready to negotiate with Iran and invites consultations is an attempt to deceive public opinion around the world. This means that we (we) want to negotiate and seek peace, but Iran is not interested,” Ayatollah Khamenei said during a meeting with Iranian university students.
“We negotiated for years, and this same person tossed aside the completed and signed contract and tore it up. What kind of consultation should we pursue if we know that negotiations are ineffective?” the leader explained. Two years of comprehensive consultation was required for Iran, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China to sign the JCPOA.
It was not immediately clear whether Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments were made with knowledge of the contents of Trump’s letter. In particular, in 2019, he refused to accept a message from Trump delivered by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo ABE, and rejected the US president as not worth exchanging messages.
Iranian leaders also addressed unspecified Iranian officials who believe negotiations with the US could ease economic pressure through sanctions relief. Why aren’t we sitting with the US? ”
Ayatollah Khamenei has made it clear that current involvement with the US administration will not alleviate sanctions. Instead, it further complicates the issue of sanctions and increases the pressure on us. Negotiations with this government will only increase that pressure. ”
The leader said he warned at a recent meeting with Iranian authorities that new talks with Washington would lead to further demand. This only makes the problem worse than it is today. So negotiations don’t actually solve the problem. We don’t solve the complexities we face. ”
Recognizing the impact of US sanctions, Ayatollah Khamenei said internal factors also contribute to Iran’s economic hardships. “While sanctions are not entirely ineffective, it is important to recognize that our economic struggles are not merely due to them. In many cases, a key part of our problem comes from our own negligence. While sanctions play a role, many of our problems arise from within. Over time, sanctions can lose their effectiveness. This is something that needs to be kept in mind.”
Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. Because that’s because I never wanted it
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the reason Iran does not own nuclear weapons and does not pursue them is simply because it does not choose. “There are various reasons for this decision that we have discussed before. If we wanted to pursue nuclear weapons, external forces could not prevent us from doing so,” he said, adding, “If Iran really wants to develop them, the US would not be able to stop us.”
Decades ago, leaders issued fatwa (religious orders) prohibiting the development and possession of weapons of mass destruction, deeming them to violate Islamic principles.
Perhaps in the most important part of his speech, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a harsh warning about the threat of escalation from the United States. “Iran does not seek war, but if Americans and their agents make the wrong move, Iran’s response is decisive and certain, and the person who suffers the most will be America.”
Trump has said that if Iran does not participate in consultations and does not agree to his terms for the new agreement, he will resort to military action.
The leaders characterized the US military threat as irrational and warned that such provocation could lead to serious consequences. “Creating and causing damage to war is not one-sided,” he said.