TEHRAN – When bullying governments insist on negotiations, it's a calculated move to impose their will, not a genuine attempt to solve problems, said Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, as U.S President Donald Trump continues to express willingness to engage in talks with Iran despite keeping sanctions in place. 

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with heads of the three branches of government and a number of Iranian officials in Tehran on Saturday. “The persistence of some bullying governments in wanting negotiations is not to solve issues but to impose their own expectations. The Islamic Republic of Iran will undoubtedly reject their demands,” the Leader stated.

Trump has been asking Iran to sit at the negotiating table on its nuclear program since 2018, the year he left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and re-imposed heavy sanctions against Tehran. The 2015 deal, which was in the making for multiple years, limited Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. In addition to Iran and the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia, and Germany were also signatories to the deal. 

Most recently, Trump said he has written a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, asking him to engage in talks with Washington. The Leader said back in February that negotiating with the U.S. would be “unwise, unintelligent, and dishonorable.”

The same day Trump talked about the alleged letter, his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said the president’s new sanctions are going to “shut down Iran’s oil sector and drone manufacturing capabilities.”

Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA also spurred European states to begin shunning the deal despite remaining as official signatories.  Iran began scaling back on some of its own commitments in 2020, after it became clear that Europe had also decided to scrap the nuclear pact. 

“Now, those three European countries issue statements, claiming that Iran hasn't fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA. Well, did you fulfill yours? You never did from the start. After the U.S. withdrew, you promised to compensate in some way, but you broke that promise too,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding, “There are limits to shamelessness!”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader emphasized that the principles of Western civilization are contrary to the principles of Islam and “we cannot follow them.”

“We can and should use any benefit [available] anywhere in the world but we cannot rely on the principles of Western civilization,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that double standards in the West are truly a “disgrace” to Western civilization and cited the claim of free dissemination of information as an example of such dual policies.

“They claim to have the free circulation of information. Is that really the case? Is there free circulation of information in the West now? Can you mention the names of Haj Qassem, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, or Martyr Haniyeh in Western virtual spaces? Can you protest against the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon? Can you deny the alleged events of Nazi Germany against the Jews? This is their free circulation of information! This civilization has revealed its true nature today."

The Leader also pointed to Iran’s economic woes and stressed the importance of making reforms in the country’s monetary policies and strengthening national currency.

Ayatollah Khamenei urged all Iranian officials to foster coherence to solve problems, saying the three branches of government and the Armed Forces should strengthen cooperation.