Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's rejection of talks with the United States is final, Iran’s parliament speaker said, emphasizing that when Khamenei calls such negotiations “not honorable,” the decision is settled.
"Yesterday, the Supreme Leader made a clear and explicit statement on negotiations, which defines the consensus," he said. "My expectation and demand are that the president and his government colleagues align their actions with these directives and move forward accordingly."
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also acknowledged internal divisions on the issue, warning against framing the debate as a simple "yes or no" to negotiations within the country's political landscape.
He also touched upon Khamenei's comments from the previous day, in which the Supreme Leader dismissed the idea of talks with Washington, calling them neither “wise, intelligent nor honorable.”
“Negotiations with the United States have no impact on solving the country's problems. We must understand this correctly and not be misled into thinking that sitting at the negotiation table with that government will resolve certain issues. No, negotiations with the United States will not solve any problems,” Khamenei said on Friday.
Khamenei’s remarks directly challenged those, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had expressed openness to potential discussions with the US on a new nuclear deal.
Trump called for Iran's full disarmament in written message
Ghalibaf said the Trump administration has sent a written message to Iran calling for the full disarmament of the Islamic Republic.
“The issue is not nuclear anymore. They speak of nuclear, missile, conventional and unconventional weapons; these are meant to disarm the Islamic Republic.”
Since 2018, when Trump imposed fresh oil export and banking sanctions, Iran's economy has worsened dramatically. The decline has been further exacerbated by decades of mismanagement, corruption, and a focus on funding foreign conflicts rather than addressing domestic needs.
The national currency has plummeted by 95%, losing 22 times its value, while inflation has remained stubbornly high at around 40% for the past five years. Official estimates now suggest that over a third of the population lives below the poverty line.
