Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday he will not negotiate a nuclear deal with the U.S., citing demands about the country’s missile range and influence.
In a series of posts on X, Khamenei called the U.S. government “coercive,” claiming negotiations are only a means to impose new demands.
“Such negotiations aren’t aimed at solving issues,” Khamenei wrote. “Their aim is to exert their dominance and impose what they want.”
He added the “demands” relate to the country’s defense and international capabilities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, July 7, 2024. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“Telling us not to do this, not to meet that person, not to go there, not to produce this, and to limit the range of our missiles to a certain extend,” Khamenei wrote. “How could anyone accept such things?”
Khamenei posted one day after President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei pushing for a nuclear agreement with Tehran, suggesting there could be military consequences if a deal is not reached.
Trump told reporters Friday the U.S. is “down to the final moments” negotiating with Iran, and he hoped a military intervention would not be necessary.
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a program held after the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah Oct. 2, 2024. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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In a statement Saturday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the administration hopes Iran “puts its people and best interests ahead of terror.”
“President Trump said it clearly that there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or by making a deal,” Hughes wrote.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran program, wrote in a statement that Trump should “be careful” in discussions with Tehran.
“Tehran has set a trap for him, hoping to lure him into endless diplomacy that is used to blunt maximum pressure and dampen the credibility of an American or Israeli military option while buying time to creep towards a nuclear weapon,” Ben Taleblu wrote in a statement.
While Trump said in February he believed Iran was “close” to developing a nuclear weapon, he noted the U.S. would prevent the action.
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