Khamenei: War will not happen and negotiations with America are poison
The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a meeting with government officials that there will be no war between Iran and the United States. Khamenei called negotiations with the Trump administration “double poison.” He emphasized that Iran will not limit its missile capabilities.
“There will be no war with the United States,” said Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a meeting with Iranian government officials on Tuesday, May 14. The remarks come as tensions between Iran and the United States have escalated, with the United States seeking to continue imposing maximum sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Earlier, US media reported that the US was considering sending 120,000 troops to the Middle East. This news was denied by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Trump called the news of sending US troops to the Middle East to confront Iran “fake”.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also stressed in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow that the United States is not seeking war with Iran, but will continue to impose sanctions on Iran.
“Both countries are not looking for war”
The Leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized that neither Iran nor the United States seeks war, because war is not in the interests of the Americans. According to Khamenei, the current confrontation between the two countries is a “clash of wills.”
Addressing domestic supporters of negotiations with the United States, Khamenei once again rejected negotiations with the Trump administration, calling it “poison.” Khamenei said, “As long as America is what it is now, negotiations with the current American government are a double poison. Negotiations mean bargaining and trading, but what America sees are our strengths.”
The leader of the Islamic Republic called negotiations over Iran’s missile capabilities wrong, stressing that “no zealous and intelligent Iranian would trade on his strengths.” Khamenei also rejected the reduction of “Iran’s strategic depth” in the region. “So the principle of negotiations is wrong, even with a reasonable person. These people are not reasonable people and they are not committed to anything. Of course, no one in our right mind is looking for negotiations either,” Khamenei said.
The United States considers Iran's interventions in regional countries a threat to stability in the Middle East and wants Iran to change its behavior in this regard.
Khamenei said that America's hostility began at the beginning of the Iranian revolution and that the country "takes into account the interests of the Zionist regime more than any other government. The command of many things is in the hands of the Zionist community."
Brian Hook, the US State Department's special representative for Iran, said in an exclusive interview with Deutsche Welle: "If you look at all the non-nuclear issues, from missile development and testing to regional aggression, from human rights violations to arbitrary detention of dual citizens, we and the Europeans are in complete agreement and our assessment of these threats is the same. You have seen this over the past year, since we left the nuclear deal. Europe has taken a series of measures to counter Iranian aggression and overreach, not only in Europe but also in the Middle East."
Highlighting America's domestic problems, Khamenei said that the Trump administration's policies toward Europeans and Asian countries have also been detrimental to Americans, and that the United States "will definitely fail" against the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei called the current confrontation with the United States beneficial to Iran and, citing some American experts, said that the current pressures will cause an "economic leap in Iran."
According to independent experts, if sanctions continue, Iran's ability to export oil, gas, and petrochemical products will be severely limited, leaving the country with a budget deficit and foreign exchange shortages.
Source: DW
