Iran’s supreme leader voices pessimism about new talks with US

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed pessimism over holding negotiations with the United States, sending a message to moderate President Hassan Rouhani who vowed during his recent re-election campaign to enter talks with Washington to lift non-nuclear sanctions.

In a meeting with heads of the government branches and senior officials on June 12, the supreme leader urged them to “act vigilantly, meticulously and very cautiously wherever it is required to work with foreigners. Remarks should not be made in a way that implies trusting the enemy, as it will have a negative effect on both inside the nation as well as among the foreigners.”

Mentioning the nuclear negotiations, which were held between 2013 and 2015, Khamenei added, “Our government could have distrusted the enemy, but it acquiesced in some cases and for some reason — for instance to give the United States an excuse — however, no excuses were yielded and it was detrimental for us.”

In remarks that can be interpreted as a reaction to Rouhani’s electoral promise to hold talks with the United States over the non-nuclear sanctions, the supreme leader said, “Many issues are not resolvable with the United States, because the United States is troubled not because of nuclear energy, human rights and the like, but because of the nature of the Islamic Revolution.”