Iran’s Supreme Leader has said Tehran will not negotiate with the United States on any issue after the landmark nuclear deal with world powers in July, according to his official website on Wednesday.
The comments appeared to contradict more moderate president Hassan Rouhani, who said on Tuesday the Islamic Republic was ready to hold talks with the United States on ways to resolve Syria’s civil war.
“We negotiated with the US on the nuclear issue for specific reasons. (The Americans) behaved well in the talks, but we didn’t and we won’t allow negotiation with the Americans on other issues,” Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying.
“The Americans are not hiding their animosity towards Iran… Negotiations are a tool for them to influence Iran and to impose their will,” Ayatollah Khamenei said to hundreds of visitors to his offices.
Following the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, several high diplomatic delegations from Europe have visited Iran, in a possible sign of a thaw to a decade of isolation brought on by international sanctions.
But long-time rivals Tehran and Washington have yet to normalise relations or open a dialogue on their contending policies in the war-torn region.
