Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected on Wednesday (12) to carry out negotiations with the United States about a possible nuclear agreement after receiving a letter from US Presidents Donald Trump, asking for such negotiations.
Last week, Trump said he had sent the letter to Khamenei proposing nuclear negotiations, but also warned that “there are two ways to deal with Iran: militarily or you make a deal.”
The letter was handed over to Iranian Foreign Minister, Araqchi Abbas, on Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic counselor of the president of the United Arab Emirates.
While Araqchi and Gargash gathered, Khamenei told a group of college students that Trump’s offer for negotiations was “a scam,” the state media said.
“When we know they won’t honor, what is the sense of negotiating? Therefore, the invitation to negotiate… is a scam of public opinion, ”said Khamenei, according to state media. Ayatollah said he had not yet seen the letter.
Khamenei stated that negotiating with the Trump government, which he said had excessive demands, “will tighten the knot of sanctions and increase the pressure on Iran.”
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Tehran nuclear agreement with world powers and restored sanctions that harmed Iran’s economy. Tehran reacted a year later violating the agreement’s nuclear restrictions.
Khamenei, who has the final word in Iranian state matters, said last week that Tehran would not be intimidated to negotiate under threats.
Leaving the door open to a nuclear agreement with Iran, Trump restored the “maximum pressure” campaign that he applied in his first term as president to isolate the country from the global economy and bring his oil exports to zero.
The United Arab Emirates, one of Washington’s leading security partners in the Middle East and host of the US troops, also maintains warm ties with Tehran. Despite past tensions, commercial and commercial ties between the two countries remained strong, and Dubai served as an important shopping center for Iran for over a century.
Military threats
Iran has denied long time wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.
“If we wanted to build nuclear weapons, the US would not be able to prevent. We don’t want that ourselves, ”said Khamenei.
However, Iran’s enriched uranium inventory with up to 60% purity, close to approximately 90% for weapons, increased, the International Atomic Energy Agency at the end of last month said.
Iran’s Archi-Initudo, Israel, threatened to attack Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomacy cannot contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the United States were determined to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and their influence on the Middle East.
Khamenei warned on Wednesday against any military attack on Iran.
“Iran is not looking for war, but if Americans or their agents take a wrong step, our answer will be decisive and certain, and who will suffer more damage will be America,” he said.
While Tehran promised to retaliate against any military aggression, some Western diplomats argue that the country would face significant challenges.
Last year, Israel attacked Iranian facilities, including missile factories and aerial defenses in retaliation for Iranian missile attacks and drones.
This reduced the conventional military capabilities of Tehran, according to US analysts and authorities, an assessment contested by Tehran.
This content was originally published in Iran’s supreme leader rejects negotiating with the US after Trump’s letter on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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