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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that Iran will not accept demands from a “bully” who only seeks dominance rather than solving problems.
“Some bullying governments - really, no better word can be found for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bully - some bullying governments insist on negotiations. However, their negotiations are not meant to solve issues, but rather to impose dominance. They negotiate to impose what they want on the other side,” Khamenei said in a meeting with Iran’s heads of government.
“Negotiation is a way for them to set new demands. The issue is not just the nuclear issue,” he added.
Khamenei did not name the United States, but his comments come a day after US President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to the Supreme Leader in a bid to open nuclear negotiations.
“They put forward new demands that Iran will certainly not accept. These negotiations are about the country’s defensive capabilities and international abilities,” Khamenei said.
During his first tenure in office, Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that saw Tehran agree to curb its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for much-needed relief from crippling sanctions.
Soon after returning to power this year, Trump restored his “maximum pressure” policy that authorizes sanctions with the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or expanding its missile program, warning that Tehran is “too close” to a nuclear weapon.
Trump has said that he would be open to making a new nuclear deal with Tehran, but in February, Khamenei said it would be “unwise” to negotiate with the US.
Iran’s foreign minister ruled out talks as long as Washington persists with its sanctions policy.
Since the US withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran has significantly increased its nuclear program but has said it does not pursue a weapon.
Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, on Monday said “Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% U‑235 has increased to 275 kg, up from 182 kg in the past quarter.”
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