Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday warned against negotiating over the nuclear issue with the United States under the current circumstances, saying that it would be of no use to Iran's national interests.
"Under the present circumstances, negotiation with the U.S. government is, firstly, of no help to our national interests, fails to have any benefit for us and will not prevent any loss," Khamenei said in a televised address.
He also cautioned that negotiations might even lead to "major" losses for Iran, including some that would be "irreparable."Khamenei underlined that the U.S. had already determined the course of negotiations by calling on Iran to suspend its nuclear work and uranium enrichment, which he said was not negotiation, but "dictation and imposition."
He further stated that Washington had also demanded Iran give up its missiles of short-, medium-, and long-range, seeking to limit the country in its capacity to retaliate against possible aggression.
Pointing at aggressive actions by the United States against Iran over the years, Khamenei characterized diplomacy with the United States concerning nuclear and other matters as an "absolute dead end."
Iran had reached a nuclear deal with global powers in July 2015, committing to cap some parts of its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. The U.S., however, pulled out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions, and Tehran began reducing its commitments.
In April, Iran and the U.S. resumed indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear program and sanctions relief. When the sixth round was near in June, Israel launched sweeping airstrikes across various locations in Iran, such as nuclear and military targets, killing top commanders, nuclear experts, and many civilians. Iran retaliated with waves of missile and drone attacks against Israel. On June 22, US forces attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities with airstrikes.
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