Iran's supreme leader says he will never negotiate with Trump administration
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, took a page out of President Trump's diplomacy handbook Monday by tweeting his refusal to conduct negotiations with the U.S. Khamenei outlined his disdain for America in a six-part thread on his English-language Twitter account, and he included an infographic detailing the "U.S. formula for negotiation," which slammed the U.S. government for being so focused on "power and money" that they "consider negotiations as a business deal."
Why do we not negotiate with the U.S.? pic.twitter.com/4LDBfDjRw1
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) August 13, 2018
Khamenei also spoke in public Monday about Iran and the U.S.'s rocky relationship, saying, "I ban holding any talks with America. ... America never remains loyal to its promises," per Reuters.
Despite the hostilities, Khamenei declared on both Twitter and in a televised address that there will be no war between the two countries. Khamenei's assurance comes three weeks after Trump's explosive tweet telling Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to never threaten the U.S., "or you will suffer consequences."
To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
Tensions have been especially high between the two countries since the U.S. backed out of the Iran nuclear deal in May, Newsweek notes. The U.S. announced it was reimposing economic sanctions against Iran last week, putting pressure on Europe to choose between American and Iranian markets.
Although Khamenei tweeted that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran were "impossible," he said that if talks were to happen, they would "never ever be with the current U.S. administration." Read more at Reuters.