Iran's supreme leader says negotiations with US futile

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him saluting a crowd of Basij volunteers loyal to the Islamic republic, before addressing them in Tehran on November 26, 2022. KHAMENEI.IR AFP TEHRAN - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that the country's problems with the United States will not be solved through negotiations.

While addressing members of Iran's Basij voluntary force, Khamenei said that only by holding Iran to ransom permanently can the United States allow the problems to be solved, since Washington can't be satisfied and demands a new ransom every time.

Under a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, the United States agreed to lift the sanctions in return for Iran's reduction of its nuclear activities. The Iranian top leader said that America dropped such commitments, which proves that negotiations with Washington is futile.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018 and its reimposition of sanctions on Iran had prompted the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal. The talks on the deal's revival began in Vienna in April 2021. There was no breakthrough after the latest round of talks in early August.

Khamenei said that the United States asked Iran to stop 20 percent uranium enrichment, then called for a halt to 5 percent enrichment, and after that they wanted Tehran to shut down its entire nuclear industry.

After all these, they demanded a change to Iran's constitution and later tried to restrict the country within its borders and close its defense industries.

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Khamenei said Washington wants the Iranian nation to cross all its red lines, and no devoted Iranian is willing to let the country be held in such a way.

He said that spreading fake news and lies is the enemy's most important strategy, which needs to be confronted by providing accurate and true accounts of the realities on the ground.

Khamenei said the enemy wants to dominate the people's minds so that a nation will hand over its land to the enemy by its own hand.

He asked the country's people and officials to stay vigilant and prepared for the chance of being caught by surprise when the foe tries to clamor in one place but attacks somewhere else.