Tehran:
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday slammed what he described as bullying tactics a day after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran.
“Some bully governments — I really don’t know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying — insist on negotiations,” Khamenei told officials after Trump threatened military action if Iran refuses to engage in talks over its nuclear programme.
“Their negotiations are not aimed at solving problems, they aim at domination,” Khamenei said.
On Friday, Trump said he had written to Iran’s supreme leader, urging new talks on the country’s nuclear programme or face possible military action if it refuses.
Khamenei said on Saturday that bullying powers aim to assert their own expectations.
“They are setting new expectations that they think will definitely not be met by Iran,” he said, without naming the United States or referring to Trump’s letter.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told AFP in an interview that Tehran would not negotiate under “maximum pressure”, although he did not directly address Trump’s letter.
Trump reinstated his policy from his first term of maximum pressure on Iran upon returning to the White House in January.
Under this policy, the United States in 2018 withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The JCPOA, set between Tehran and western powers in 2015, had offered relief from economic sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Tehran has in recent months engaged in diplomatic efforts with three European countries — Britain, France and Germany — aimed at resolving issues surrounding its nuclear ambitions.
However on Saturday, Khamenei also slammed the three European countries for “declaring that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA”.
“You say that Iran has not fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA. Okay, have you fulfilled your commitments under the JCPOA?” he responded.
Peaceful nature
Khamenei said Tehran had abided by its commitments for a year but there was “no other way” but to roll back from these under the deal following legislation by the country’s parliament.
US officials now estimate that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within weeks if it chose to do so.
Tehran has consistently denied pursuing nuclear weapons, emphasising the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
Officials have always cited a religious decree issued by Khamenei that prohibits the development of such weapons.
Last month, Khamenei reiterated his opposition to negotiations with the United States, calling this “unwise” just days after Trump called for a new nuclear deal.
Khamenei accused Washington of having “ruined, violated, and tore up” the 2015 agreement.
In 2019, more than a year after Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, Japan’s then premier Shinzo Abe visited Iran in an attempt to mediate between Tehran and Washington.
But Khamenei firmly rejected the possibility of talks with the United States, saying he did not “consider Trump as a person worthy of exchanging messages with”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)