Khamenei signals willingness to negotiate on Iranian nuclear program with US
In a speech on Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei indicated that the Iranian government is open to negotiating with the United States regarding its nuclear program.
Khamenei set certain red lines beyond which he would not allow such negotiations to proceed but made it clear that he was still open to making a new deal.
Though warning the rest of the Iranian government to “not trust the enemy,” he also said that “this does not mean that we cannot interact with the same enemy in certain situations,” according to a report from the Associated Press.
He emphasized that while “there is no harm” in pursuing negotiations with the U.S., Iran should “not place [its] hopes in them.”
In 2015, the Iranian regime agreed to a nuclear deal backed by the Obama administration, but the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018 under the Trump administration.
Responding to the Supreme Leader’s remarks, the U.S. State Department told the AP it would “judge Iran’s leadership by their actions, not their words.”
The State Department went on to say that such negotiations were not possible given Iran’s current behavior.
Though affirming that “diplomacy” is the “best way to achieve an effective, sustainable solution concerning Iran’s nuclear program,” the State Department added, “We are far away from anything like that right now given Iran’s escalations across the board.”
Specifically, it said the U.S. would not be open to further negotiations unless Iran chooses to “stop nuclear escalations and start meaningfully cooperating with the IAEA,” the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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