[JPost] Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sought to prevent negotiations with the US administration of Donald Trump, arguing the Americans will not make any concessions. "Negotiating with the US is futile," he said Sunday. "Those who believe that negotiations with the enemy will solve our problems are 100% wrong."His logic is that the US won't make concessions. He also said the US wants to bring Iran to the table by forcing it to its knees. "Nothing will reduce sanctions and pressure," he said. In addition he pointed out that Iran now has precision guided missiles that can travel 2,000km that can hit a target within a meter of accuracy. So why would Iran need to negotiate away its rights to these missiles, he argued.
Relations between the two foes have reached a crisis over the past year after Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers under which Tehran accepted curbs to its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions.
"They are currently saying ‘don't be active in the region, do not help the resistance [i.e Hezbollah], don't be in some countries [i.e Syria], and stop your missile defense and production,'" the Ayatollah noted. He said that if Iran bends to these demands then the US will demand Iran become a secular country and let women walk around showing their hair. "American demands will never stop."
Washington has reimposed sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports, saying it seeks to force Iran to negotiate to reach a wider deal. Khamenei has banned Iranian officials from holding such talks unless the United States returns to the nuclear deal and lifts all sanctions.