Khamenei slams bullying after Trump threats

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday slammed what he described as bullying tactics a day after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran.

“Some bully governments -- I really don’t know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying -- insist on negotiations,” Khamenei told officials after Trump threatened military action if Iran refuses to engage in talks over its nuclear programme.

“Their negotiations are not aimed at solving problems, they aim at domination,” Khamenei said.

On Friday, Trump said he had written to Iran’s supreme leader, urging new talks on the country’s nuclear programme or face possible military action if it refuses.

Khamenei said on Saturday that bullying powers aim to assert their own expectations. “They are setting new expectations that they think will definitely not be met by Iran,” he said, without naming the United States or referring to Trump’s letter.

On Friday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told AFP in an interview that Tehran would not negotiate under “maximum pressure”, although he did not directly address Trump’s letter. Trump reinstated his policy from his first term of maximum pressure on Iran upon returning to the White House in January.

Under this policy, the United States in 2018 withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA, set between Tehran and western powers in 2015, had offered relief from economic sanctions in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Tehran has in recent months engaged in diplomatic efforts with three European countries -- Britain, France and Germany -- aimed at resolving issues surrounding its nuclear ambitions.