The Media Line: Khamenei Signals Willingness To Resume US Nuclear Talks

Khamenei Signals Willingness To Resume US Nuclear Talks

By The Media Line Staff

In a video aired by Iranian state media on Tuesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that there was “no barrier” to resuming talks with the United States about its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Khamenei, who referred to the US as the “enemy,” emphasized Washington’s untrustworthiness and addressed the newly approved cabinet of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian directly, stating, “Do not trust the enemy.”

“We do not have to pin our hope to the enemy. For our plans, we should not wait for approval by the enemies,” Khamenei said, adding that it was not “contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places.”

Pezeshkian, who won a surprise victory in Iran’s snap presidential election this summer following the death of the previous hard-line president in a helicopter crash, campaigned primarily on alleviating the country’s economic woes through rapprochement with the West.

Iran’s economy has suffered considerably under the sweeping sanctions reintroduced by the Trump Administration after it withdrew from the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal, but it remains unclear how much leeway Pezeshkian will have in any potential negotiations.

Khamenei, who has led the Shiite theocracy since 1989, retains ultimate authority over all matters of state.

Some experts note that Khamenei’s comments are reminiscent of his rhetoric during the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiations.