US Calls for Talks with Iran Nothing but Deceit

Addressing a meeting with Iran's Judiciary Chief Hojatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi and some other judicial officials and judges in Tehran on Wednesday, the Leader described the US offer to hold talks with the Islamic Republic as “deceit” and said the powerful nation of Iran will never give in to US demands and pressures.

“After failing to reach its goal via pressure, the enemy, under the illusion of the Iranian nation’s naivety, proposes to negotiate and says that the Iranian nation must progress. No doubt this nation will make progress, but without you and provided that you do not get close (to Iran),” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader further pointed to dominance of the US and Britain over Iran under the Pahlavi regime and said, “You (the US and Britain) are the factor behind the backwardness of the Iranian people in that inauspicious era, and now, your presence, will have no result but the backwardness and halt of Iran’s progress.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further emphasized that the main goal behind the US calls for negotiation is to disarm the Iranian nation and eliminate “the elements of Iran’s power”.

“The Americans are now fearful of the elements of the Iranian nation’s power…, so they are seeking to take this weapon from Iran’s hands through negotiation and then inflict whatever suffering they want on the nation,” the Leader went on to say.

The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US after the Islamic Republic shot down an advanced US spy drone over its territorial waters.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that a US spy drone that violated the Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of the day was shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday called off a retaliatory attack on a number of targets in Iran and said that he was ready to speak with Iranian leaders and come to an understanding that would allow the country to improve its economic prospects. “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me.”

“I look forward to the day where we can actually help Iran. We're not looking to hurt Iran,” Trump added.

However, on Monday Trump announced new sanctions against top Iranian officials, including the office of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s foreign minister, and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

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