News

By Jay Deshmukh
(AFP)
–
6 hours ago

TEHRAN — Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on
Wednesday that any talks with arch-foe the United States would take
place only if Washington drops "sanctions and threats" against Tehran.

In
a speech on state television, the all-powerful Khamenei also blamed
Washington for Iran's defiant move to enrich uranium to 20 percent, the
most controversial aspect of its nuclear programme.

"The respected
president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and others have said that we are ready
for negotiation. It is right. But not with America," Khamenei told an
audience of senior Iranian officials, including Ahmadinejad, in the
speech.

"The reason is that America does not enter the field
honestly as a normal negotiator. They should drop the face of a
superpower, they should drop threats, they should drop sanctions and
they should not set a goal for negotiation. Then we are ready."

Washington,
with whom Tehran has had no diplomatic ties for more than three
decades, led world powers on June 9 in imposing new UN sanctions against
Iran for continuing to enrich uranium.

Western and European
nations have a dual-track policy of imposing sanctions and calling for
talks to bring Tehran to the negotiating table... >>>