In new comments issued today through his Twitter account, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that while the US is talking about war and negotiations, he wants to be clear that Iran will not have a war with the US, nor negotiate with them.
The comments come after recent suggestions that President Trump was open to talking with Iran “without preconditions,” though at the time it was said to be an offer to talk with Iran’s President Rouhani.
Subsequent preconditions added by other US officials made talks unlikely at any rate, and Rouhani certainly would not be able to engage in talks over an objection from the supreme leader, so this effectively ends that possibility.
Khamenei’s comments also sought to downplay the impact of US sanctions, seemingly an attempt to address protests over Iran’s economic woes, Khamenei blamed government mismanagement of the economy for the struggles, not US sanctions.