A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has confirmed receiving messages from the United States on the resumption of nuclear talks, saying Tehran is studying them.
“After the [Israeli-US] war, we have no trust in the US at all,” Ali Larijani said in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV Channel.
The Israeli regime launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran on June 13, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders and nuclear scientists in addition to civilians.
On June 22, the United States officially joined the war against Iran by launching attacks on three nuclear facilities in the country in violation of the United Nations Charter and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Israeli strikes came as Iran and the United States had held five rounds of indirect negotiations, mediated by Oman, over Iran’s nuclear program since April and were preparing to hold fresh talks in the Omani capital on June 15, which was cancelled.
“The theory of the US, led by [President Donald] Trump, is based on the principle that you either surrender or enter into war,” Larijani said.
He added that a new “Middle East” is emerging, which would be a “resilient and independent” region.
Trump’s ‘peace through power’ theory failed in Iran
On a separate occasion, Larijani said on Friday the US president and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are pursuing a reactionary theory of “peace through power” and noted, “This is the same perspective that all the bloodthirsty individuals in history have had, and it is nothing new.”
The Leader’s aide was speaking during a ceremony to commemorate the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Saeed Izadi – known as Haj Ramezan – who headed the Palestine section of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
General Izadi’s martyrdom was confirmed by the IRGC late in June, several days after he sustained critical injuries in an Israeli attack.
Larijani said the US has inflicted damage and caused massacres in the international scene, but the people of Palestine and Gaza did not surrender.
“Iran, under the wise leadership of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, responded decisively and did not allow this theory to manifest in our country. Therefore, Trump’s theory has failed,” he added.
Larijani, who is also a member of Iran’s Expediency Council, emphasized that Trump and Netanyahu are attempting to force weak countries to surrender and achieve their objectives through hue and cry and bullying; however, “with the blessing of the blood of martyrs, a resilient Middle East is in the making.”
He said the US and Israeli leaders claimed that they have eliminated the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, but “now, more than 21 months have passed…and Hamas is still carrying out military operations, so Hamas is alive.”
