Talks ‘got us nowhere’: Iran’s supreme leader casts doubt on future negotiations
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments come as the Trump administration ramps up its maximum pressure campaign on Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei played down the idea of returning to negotiations with the West, despite a pledge from President-elect Joe Biden to revive the landmark nuclear deal from which his predecessor withdrew.
“We once tried the path of having the sanctions lifted and negotiated several years, but this got us nowhere,” Khamenei said, according to Reuters.
“They interfere in regional affairs; they tell us not to intervene. And while Britain and France have nuclear missiles, they tell us not to have missiles. What does it have to do with you? You should first correct yourselves,” he added.
The United States and five other world powers in 2015 reached a historic deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, which required Tehran to scale back its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
