Khamenei Says Negotiating with This U.S. Government Will Tighten Sanctions

The leader of the Islamic Republic claimed that the invitation from the U.S. President to Iran for negotiations is intended to "deceive global public opinion." On Wednesday, March 13, in a meeting with individuals introduced as "a group of students and activists of student organizations," Ali Khamenei commented on Donald Trump's proposal for negotiations between Iran and the U.S., stating that in his belief, "negotiating with this U.S. government will not lift sanctions, meaning it will not remove the sanctions. It will tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure." According to the leader of the Islamic Republic, "the fact that the U.S. President says we are ready to negotiate with Iran and invites negotiations is a deception of global public opinion." He argued that this proposal means "we are willing to negotiate and seek peace, but Iran is not willing." This is the third time in the past week that Ali Khamenei has explicitly stated his opposition to negotiations with the U.S. He had previously said that Iran would not negotiate with "bullying governments," which could refer to the U.S. On Wednesday, he reiterated this position, claiming that "today the world's bullies say everyone must obey us and must prioritize our interests over their own. Iran is the only country that has firmly rejected this." The U.S. President stated on March 8 that he wanted to negotiate about Iran's nuclear program and had sent a letter to the leader of the Islamic Republic for this reason. Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox Business, mentioned the content of this letter, saying, "I said I hope you negotiate because it would be much better for Iran." Following Khamenei's immediate rejection of Trump's statements, Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran, also expressed a willingness to negotiate, but stated that Khamenei's position is "the final word." In recent days, he has repeatedly expressed opposition to negotiations with the U.S., stating that "the Islamic Republic will not surrender." While senior officials of the Islamic Republic explicitly reject negotiations with the U.S., Trump, just hours after announcing the sending of the letter to Khamenei, told reporters at the White House that "very, very soon things will happen" regarding Iran, "interesting days are ahead," and "we have reached the final moves regarding Iran." Tehran states that as long as the U.S. continues its "maximum pressure policy and threats," there will be no "direct negotiations" with the country. In his remarks on Wednesday evening, Khamenei also referred to the deaths of several senior leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran's proxy groups, stating: "Their absence is truly a loss for us. However, this year, without them, we are stronger in some issues compared to last year on this same day; in some issues, we are not weaker if we are not stronger." He did not explain how Iran has become stronger since the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, as well as the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, an ally of the Islamic Republic. Regarding the threats from the U.S. and Israel to strike Iran's nuclear positions if it continues to enrich uranium further, he stated that "initiating war is not a one-sided issue, and Iran is capable of delivering a counter-strike and will certainly do so." He added, "Of course, we are not seeking war because war is not a good thing, but if someone takes action, we will respond decisively."