Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday that he had no reply to the message he was delivering from US President Donald Trump, as he does not consider him worthy of communication.
"I don't see Trump worthy of exchanging a message with and don’t have and won't give any answer to him," he was quoted as saying by his website.
Abe was in Tehran on a mission aimed at reducing tensions in the Middle East, marking the first visit by a Japanese premier to Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Persian Gulf region has been experiencing tensions in recent months after the United States dispatched additional forces to counter what it alleged as Iranian threats.
The friction between Tehran and Washington heightened when Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions to push for a new deal.
Abe was conveying Trump's request for negotiations with Iran over the nuclear program.
Ayatollah Khamenei rejected the call, saying no wise person would negotiate again with a country that has already violated a "definitive agreement" reached after years of multilateral talks.
Bitter Experience
The Leader stressed that Iran will not repeat the bitter experience of previous negotiations with US.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran cannot believe the US expression of willingness for "honest talks" because such an act cannot be performed by a person like Trump.
On a visit to Japan last month, Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran, but placed sanctions on the country's largest petrochemical group soon after his return.
"Is this a message of honesty? Does that show he seeks honest negotiations?” Ayatollah Khamenei told Abe.
“Disputes between Tehran and Washington, which date back 40 years, will not be addressed through talks,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, stressing that "no noble nation would accept negotiations under pressure".
Trump, during his visit to Tokyo, had told Abe that his administration did not seek regime change in Iran, but was only looking for "no nuclear weapons".
The Leader said such a claim about regime change was a "lie" because "he would do it if he could, but he can't".
“The US is not qualified to talk about other countries' possession of atomic arms, as it currently stores thousands of nuclear weapons,” he said.
He reiterated Iran's opposition to nuclear weapons, citing his religious decree that bans their production, stockpiling and use, but stressed that the US would not have been able to stop Tehran if it intended to build them.
Ayatollah Khamenei also called on Japan to show a firm stance as an important Asian country, if it wanted to expand ties with Iran.
Japan was one of the main buyers of Iranian oil until last month, when Washington ordered all countries to halt Iranian oil imports, or face sanctions.
