Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of committing a “grave crime” by bombing innocents in Yemen. He said Tehran will not accept any further talks with Washington due to what he described as U.S. “violations” of the deal.
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The experience of Iranians about the failure of the United States in the fulfilment of its obligations pertaining to a nuclear deal signed on July 14 showed that it can never be trusted, Xinhua news agency quoted Khamenei as saying.
Under the deal, which came into force in October, world powers agreed to drop crippling multilateral economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for measures created to ensure that it can not develop nuclear weapons. “Is any tangible effect seen in people’s life after six months?”
In particular, Khamenei said sanctions were only being removed incrementally and that foreign companies were not yet investing in Iran. “Negotiation with such a government means diversion from the correct path of advancement of the country, giving constant concessions and allowing a bullying policy in practice”. Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, promised Iranians that the end of sanctions would bring growth and jobs to their moribund economy. But the agreement has been criticized by both republican and democratic politicians.
Khamenei also described a rare recent visit to Israel by a delegation of Saudi nationals as “treason” to Islamic nations while adding that the US was behind the visit.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry later sought to distance itself from the visit, saying that it “does not reflect the views of the Saudi government” and referring to Israel as “the occupied territories”.
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While Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal relations, media reports have suggested that common interests, such as a fear of Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s efforts to gain influence in the Middle East, have drawn the Kingdom and the Jewish state closer together.
