Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday banned any further negotiations between Iran and the US, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran’s isolation after reaching a nuclear deal with world powers in July.
Khamenei’s statements directly contradict those of moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who says his government is ready to hold talks with the US on how to resolve the conflict in Syria, where the two countries back opposing sides.
“Negotiations with the United States open gates to their economic, cultural, political and security influence. Even during the nuclear negotiations they tried to harm our national interests.,” Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website.
“Our negotiators were vigilant but the Americans took advantage of a few chances,” he said.
Although he supported the last 18 months of negotiations, Khamenei has not publicly endorsed the nuclear agreement with the US, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia that settled a standoff of more than a decade.