WASHINGTON – Soon after finally agreeing to another round of negotiations with
world powers, Iran slapped down American overtures Thursday for one-on-one
talks.
“Some naive people like the idea of negotiating with
America. However, negotiations will not solve the problem,” Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech quoted on his official
website.
His remarks followed an offer that US Vice President Joe Biden
made this weekend at a security conference in Munich, that the two countries
hold bilateral contacts on the side of the next meeting of the socalled P5+1, or
the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany.
Those talks were
announced Tuesday as scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan at the end of
February. The West has been trying for months to arrange another round of
diplomatic negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
“If some people want
American rule to be established again in Iran, the nation will rise up to face them,” Khamenei said. “American
policy in the Middle East has been destroyed, and Americans now need to play a
new card. That card is dragging Iran into negotiations.”
Khamenei’s harsh
response also came as America was tightening the financial screws against Iran,
with new measures on Wednesday making it harder for Iranians to receive payments
for oil exports.
At the same time, the US has been careful to leave open
the door to diplomacy. US President Barack Obama is widely seen as interested in
a strong diplomatic push before Iran reaches a threshold for building a nuclear
bomb – something Israel has indicated is a red line that could be breached by
late spring or early summer, greatly enhancing the likelihood of military force
being used against Tehran.
Reuters contributed to this report.