US must drop support for Israel before any cooperation, says Iran's supreme leader
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Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday that Tehran will only consider working with the United States if Washington changes its regional approach.
He said this includes ending support for Israel, removing US military bases in the region, and stopping interference.
Khamenei said that if the United States completely abandoned its support for the Zionist regime, withdrew its military bases from the region, and refrained from interfering there, then cooperation could be considered. He added that, according to him, the arrogant nature of the United States accepted nothing other than submission.
Khamenei made these remarks at an event with students in Tehran. The gathering marked the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy, which happened after the Islamic Revolution removed the Western-backed Shah.
The region has been tense since mid-June.
Israel launched a large bombing campaign against Iran, which caused a war. The US joined briefly with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The conflict lasted 12 days. Iran responded with missiles and drones. These events interrupted nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington that had started in April. A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24.
Khamenei said that if the country became strong and the enemy realised that confronting a strong nation would not bring profit but only loss, then the country would certainly gain immunity.
Iran has struggled under heavy international sanctions for years. The pressure increased after the US withdrew from a nuclear deal in 2018 and restored sanctions. In September, the United Nations brought back sanctions under the “snapback” mechanism after Britain, France, and Germany activated it.
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Tehran is still “ready to enter negotiations” with the US. But he said talks must be only about the nuclear programme. He ruled out any talks about Iran’s missile programme. He added that discussions could resume "whenever the Americans are ready to negotiate on an equal footing and based on mutual interests. Apparently, they are not in a hurry. We are not in a hurry either."