The United States would have to end its support for Israel and withdraw its military presence from the region before any request for cooperation with Tehran could even be considered in the distant future, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday.
“Only if the United States completely cuts its backing for the Zionist regime, removes its military bases from the region, and ceases interfering in its affairs, their request for cooperation with Iran -- not in the near future but much later -- could be examined,” Khamenei said in a meeting with students in Tehran.
Marking the anniversary of November 4 US embassy takeover, known as Student Day in Iran, Khamenei described it as “a day of pride and victory” and said it should remain alive in the nation’s collective memory.
He said the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran had “exposed the true identity of the American government,” calling the embassy “a headquarters of plotting against the Revolution.”
On November 4, 1979, a group of students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, taking Americans hostage for 444 days. This act ignited the new Islamic government’s anti-US stance and set Iran on a path of prolonged conflict with Washington.
The Leader rejected the notion that the embassy seizure began Iran’s dispute with Washington. “The differences between the Islamic Republic and America are not tactical but essential,” he said. “Some distort history and imagine that the slogan ‘Death to America’ caused this conflict – this is naïve.”
The United States’ nature was “imperialist and intolerant of independence,” Khamenei added.
“Every American president has demanded Iran’s surrender, even if they did not say it aloud,” he said. “The current president said it openly -- he revealed the true face of America. What does the surrender of a nation like Iran even mean?”
Back in June, President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender and warned US patience was wearing thin.
The United States held five rounds of negotiations with Tehran over its disputed nuclear program under a 60-day deadline set by President Donald Trump.
When no agreement was reached by the 61st day, on June 13, Israel launched a surprise military offensive, followed by US strikes on June 22 targeting key nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow.
