TEHRAN: If United States threatens our security, we will respond in kind: Iranian Supreme Leader.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has dismissed the possibility of negotiations with the Trump administration, referencing previous interactions with the US president. He has also committed to a strong response to any threats directed at the Islamic Republic.
“With such a government there should not be any negotiations as it is neither wise, nor prudent, nor dignified,” Khamenei, the country’s ultimate decision maker, told Iranian military forces.
Khamenei emphasized the importance of learning from past interactions, specifically referencing the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018, subsequently implementing stringent sanctions on Iran. “This is our lesson with them,” Khamenei remarked. “We must apply this knowledge moving forward.”
“If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they act on their threats, we will act on ours,” he warned. “If they violate our nation’s security, we will violate theirs . . . This is our duty, as required by Islam.” said Khamenei
Khamenei’s 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”.
