Khamenei's Renewed Attack on America and Negotiation Supporters

In a repeated and sharp attack on the United States government, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once again criticized the U.S. and domestic supporters of negotiations with it during a speech on Wednesday. He labeled these supporters as 'exhausted and worldly.' The Supreme Leader spoke to a group of students and pupils on November 3, which is recognized in Iran as 'Student Day and National Day of Struggle Against Global Arrogance.' According to Ayatollah Khamenei, currently, the U.S. and its 'dependent agents,' along with 'some repentants and exhausted worldly people' inside Iran, are trying to instill two 'wrong' thoughts, especially among Iranian youth and students. One 'wrong' thought is that Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, stood against the U.S. 'out of fanaticism and stubbornness.' However, the second 'wrong' thought, which occupies a larger portion of Khamenei's recent speech and has been addressed multiple times, especially in recent months, is that 'the solution to the country's problems lies in negotiating and compromising with America.' The Supreme Leader believes that supporters of this second thought are trying to 'inject' it into society, especially in the press and universities. Khamenei's repeated emphasis on this point and his sharp criticisms of it, particularly after the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, may indicate that there are officials in Hassan Rouhani's government who have defended the policy of negotiating with the U.S. According to Khamenei, 'Some say let’s negotiate and compromise with the U.S. over Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and even internal issues!' In response to these 'some,' Khamenei emphasized: 'Negotiating with the Americans will not solve our problems because, firstly, they are liars, unreliable, deceitful, and backstabbers, and secondly, the U.S. itself is in crisis, and how can a crisis-ridden country solve the problems of another country?' In his recent speech, Khamenei referred to the debates between the two U.S. presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, stating: 'These two candidates are now openly revealing truths and atrocities from within America that we previously said much less about, but some did not believe or did not want to believe. However, their statements in the debates indicate the destruction of human values in America.' Khamenei further mentioned the nuclear agreement or JCPOA to prove the incorrectness of the second thought, noting that even the Iranian nuclear negotiators are now 'talking about the U.S.'s unreliability.' This is not the first time that the Supreme Leader has spoken with dissatisfaction about the JCPOA, which was concluded during Hassan Rouhani's presidency and lifted a significant portion of sanctions from Iran, indirectly prohibiting any negotiations with the U.S. He had previously emphasized in September that 'absolute distrust of America' renders any negotiation with this country useless and a barrier to progress. Meanwhile, Khamenei's associates and supporters have directly accused Rouhani's government of attempting to negotiate, which he has indirectly prohibited. For instance, last month, the Supreme Leader's representative in the Revolutionary Guards accused Rouhani's government of seeking 'communication with America' through the Vienna nuclear agreement and still pursuing 'JCPOA 2 and 3.'