Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will force the United States to retreat by "resistance," which he described as the only option against unrelenting US pressure. During a meeting with the country's top political elites, including President Hassan Rouhani and parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, Khamenei dismissed the possibility that the United States and Iran would go to war, stating that the Americans understand that any such conflict will not serve their interests.
Khamenei reasserted his earlier stance that dialogue with the current US government is not an option: "As long as the United States is what it is now … negotiating is but poison, and with this current administration that poison is twice [as lethal]."
