Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Trump administration “not worthy” of cooperation, denies sending messages to Washington and discusses recent war with Israel.
TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared on Thursday that the Trump administration was “not worthy” of contact or cooperation with the Islamic republic.
“Such a government (the United States) is not worthy of being approached or cooperated with by a government like the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.
He dismissed rumours that Iran had sent messages to Washington as a “pure lie”.
The remarks came during a state-designated day celebrating the Basij forces, a paramilitary unit under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Khamenei asserted that the United States and Israel had failed “to achieve any objectives” during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.
Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran that month, triggering a war that saw the United States briefly join with strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran responded with missile and drone strikes, derailing nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington that had begun in April.
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been maintained since June 24.
During his speech, Khamenei praised Iran’s “public unity” during the conflict, noting that “even those who had differences with the system stood by it”.
He emphasized that this unity “must be preserved and appreciated”.
Khamenei had previously stated that Israel’s attacks during the war aimed to weaken the Islamic republic and sow “unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system”.
Since the war, Trump has repeatedly claimed that US strikes obliterated Iran’s nuclear programme, though the full extent of damage remains unclear.
The Pentagon has stated the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear programme by between one and two years.
This contradicts an initial classified US intelligence report that, according to American media, found the setback was only a few months.
Khamenei has previously rebuffed Trump’s assertions that Iran’s nuclear programme had been destroyed, telling him to “keep dreaming.” – AFP
