The Leader of the Islamic Revolution criticized US officials for threatening Iran with military action, saying negotiations under threat is not acceptable.
"I do not agree with negotiations under the specter of threat," Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was reported by Fars news agency as saying, renewing his call on the nuclear negotiators to stick to the red lines.
"Foreign policy officials and negotiators should scrupulously observe the main (principles) and red lines and defend the glory and grandeur of the Iranian nation, avoiding humiliation by not caving in to any imposed force or threat."
He made the remarks in a meeting with teachers on the occasion of National Teachers’ Day in Tehran on Wednesday. Noting that the Iranian nation has always defended its “identity”, the Leader said, “During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, world powers attempted to bring the nation to their knees, but of no avail. So this glory and grandeur should be protected.
“Many foreign officials have acknowledged either explicitly or implicitly that any other country would have collapsed by the sanctions and pressure imposed on the Iranian nation. But the Islamic Republic of Iran has stood firmly and resolutely.”
“This is not a minor issue (that Iran has managed to resist pressure)” and is recognized by political officials, he said, denouncing the propaganda campaigns mounted by the western media “to prevent the realities on the ground in Iran from being made public.”
“Today, the US government is the most disgraced one in the world,” as it openly backs Saudi Arabia’s atrocities in Yemen, Ayatollah Khamenei said, adding, “The Saudi government is indiscriminately massacring the innocent Yemeni people, including women and children,” under flimsy pretexts.
“And the Americans are supporting such a grave crime.”
Referring to the recent move by Saudi officials to prevent Yemen-bound Iranian cargo planes from landing to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the war-hit country, he said, “While shamelessly backing the killing of the Yemeni people, the Americans accuse Iran, which is seeking to deliver food and medical aid to the Yemenis, of shipping arms to the country.”
“The combatant and revolutionary Yemeni nation does not need weapons because it is in control of all military centers (in Yemen),” the Leader said.
What the Yemenis need is, indeed, humanitarian assistance which the US-backed Saudi coalition have withheld through a blockade on the country, he added.
