Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded Wednesday to remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Iran, including a threat Trump issued last week against Tehran.
Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei offering negotiations on a nuclear deal but warned that there were "two ways" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons—"a military option or reaching an agreement." On Wednesday afternoon, Tehran confirmed it had received the letter via the United Arab Emirates.
"When the U.S. president says he is ready to negotiate with us, it is a deception of public opinion," Khamenei said. "There is no point in negotiating when we know the other side does not uphold its commitments. Trump's call for talks is an attempt to appear as if he seeks dialogue and peace while portraying Iran as the one rejecting it."
Khamenei also issued a warning to Trump, saying, "The U.S. threatens military action, but that would not be a wise move because Iran would respond with a counterattack. They say they will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons," he said, adding, "If we wanted to obtain nuclear weapons, the U.S. would not be able to stop us. But we do not seek nuclear weapons, and we have explained our reasons for this before."
However, Khamenei’s assertion that Iran does not want nuclear weapons contradicts findings in reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities.
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"Iran does not seek war," Khamenei said, "but if the Americans or their agents make a mistake, Iran's response will be decisive, and the U.S. will be the main loser."
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters at the White House: "The next thing you'll be talking about is Iran—what's going to happen with Iran—that’s all I can say. We are in the final stages with Iran. It's going to be interesting."
He added, "Soon you’ll be discussing it, and I hope we can reach a peace agreement. I'm not speaking from a position of strength or weakness—I’m just saying I would prefer a peace deal over the alternative. But the alternative would solve the problem."
On Saturday, in his first response to Trump’s remarks, Khamenei said, "There are bully states that insist on negotiations not to resolve problems but to impose their demands. For them, negotiations are just a way to extract further concessions, and this goes beyond Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran will categorically reject their demands."