Ayatollah Khamenei:

No nuclear talks under threat

Rasa - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei touched upon the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the global powers, saying that Iran does not approve of "negotiations under the shadow of threat."

News ID: 2466

Date: 06 May 2015 - 17:25

RNA - The Leader dismissed the recent US military threats against Iran, saying that the Islamic Republic will not leave any acts of aggression unanswered.

Ayatollah Khamenei further described as “unacceptable” the use of threats concurrent with the negotiations which is underway between Iran and international powers.

The comments came after US Secretary of State John Kerry and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said military option is still on the table regarding Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei added that Washington's need for nuclear talks is not less than Tehran's, if not more, adding that Iran wants the nuclear talks to bear fruit and the sanctions be removed. The Leader, however, emphasized that Iran's participation in the negotiations does not mean that the country would be unable to run its affairs if the sanctions continue.

The Leader also cautioned the Iranian negotiators to observe the country’s red lines in the course of the talks.

'Support for Saudi aggression further disgraces US'

Elsewhere in the speech, Ayatollah Khamenei has called Saudi Arabia’s ongoing aggression against Yemen as unjustifiable, saying that the United States is "shamelessly" backing the atrocities of Saudi Arabia against its impoverished southern neighbor.

“The Saudi government is busy killing innocent people and women and children in Yemen without any justification and only under the pretext that the Yemeni people do not accept a so-and-so person as the president, and the Americans are also supporting this monstrous crime” Ayatollah Khamenei said Wednesday while addressing a gathering of teachers in Tehran.

Ayatollah Khamenei further described the US government as the most “disgraced government in the world,” adding that one reason for this loss of honor is the explicit US support for the Saudi aggression against Yemen.

“The Americans are supporting the massacre of the Yemeni people without any shame, but they accuse Iran, which is after (sending) medical aid and food to the Yemeni people, of interfering in this country and sending weapons,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Yemenis do not need weapons from Iran because they have control of all military bases in their country, adding that the most urgent need of the Yemeni people is humanitarian aid of which they have been denied due to the blockade imposed on the country.

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