Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei: ‘No war, no negotiations with the US’

Iran’s supreme leader said Monday there would be neither war nor negotiations with the United States, and that the country’s problems were the result of government mismanagement more than renewed sanctions.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments add to the pressure on President Hassan Rouhani following a collapse in the currency and widespread protests over high prices and corruption.

They appeared to rule out any hope of talks with Washington following US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and reimposition of sanctions last week.

“Recently, US officials have been talking blatantly about us. Beside sanctions, they are talking about war and negotiations,” Khamenei said via his official Twitter account in English.

“In this regard, let me say a few words to the people: THERE WILL BE NO WAR, NOR WILL WE NEGOTIATE WITH THE US.”

There was a show of resolve as Defence Minister Amir Hatami unveiled a next generation short-range ballistic missile on Monday and vowed to further boost the country’s missile capabilities.

State broadcaster IRIB said the new Fateh Mobin missile had “successfully passed its tests” and could strike targets on land and sea.

Despite renewed US sanctions, many Iranians – including many at the highest levels of the establishment – see US hostility as only a contributing factor to problems inside the country.

“Today’s livelihood problems do not emerge from outside, they are internal,” Khamenei said in another tweet.

“Not that sanctions don’t have an impact, but the main factor is how we handle them,” he added.

That mirrored criticism of Rouhani’s management from senior members of the clergy and the Revolutionary Guards.

There has been particular concern over the collapse of the rial, which has lost around half its value since April.

A fortnight ago, Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari told Rouhani to take “revolutionary actions to control prices and prevent the enormous increase in the price of foreign currency and gold,” in an open letter published by the conservative Tasnim news agency.