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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration, citing past experiences and vowing to respond forcefully to any threats.
“With such a government there should not be any negotiations as it is neither wise, nor prudent, nor dignified,” Khamenei told Iranian military forces on Friday.
He referred to the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018 before imposing tough sanctions on Iran.
“If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they act on their threats, we will act on ours,” Khamenei warned. “If they violate our nation’s security, we will violate theirs . . . This is our duty, as required by Islam.”
The statement comes in the week that Trump signed an executive order to return to his first term’s “maximum pressure” sanctions policy on Iran, but also called for Tehran and Washington to come to a “verified nuclear agreement”.
This is a developing story