Nuclear deal won’t change Iran’s US policy, says Khamenei

The Iranian supreme leader, who has the final say on all state matters, said that Tehran and Washington follow sharply different policies in the Middle East, making a more wide-ranging agreement unlikely.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television on Saturday that US policy in the Middle East runs counter to Tehran’s strategy and that Iran will continue to support its rShow more

TEHRAN // Iran’s historic nuclear deal with world powers won’t change Tehran’s policy towards the “arrogant” United States government and a more wide-ranging agreement between the two countries is unlikely, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday in his first comments since the agreement was signed.

Mr Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television that US policy in the Middle East runs counter to Tehran’s strategy and that Iran will continue to support its regional allies, including Hizbollah, Palestinian resistance groups and the Syrian government.

“Our policy toward the arrogant US government won’t change at all,” he said, addressing a large crowd in Tehran to mark the end of Ramadan.

Mr Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, said that Iran and the US follow sharply different policies in the Middle East, making a more wide-ranging agreement unlikely.

His comments are seen as a response to president Hassan Rouhani who said that the historic deal in Vienna “can step-by-step remove bricks from the wall of mistrust” between Iran and the US, should the accord be implemented in good faith.

Iran calls its Lebanese ally Hizbollah a “resistance movement”, while the US classifies it as a terrorist group. The two countries are also at odds over Israel – one of the US’ closest allies. In his Saturday speech Mr Khamenei described the Jewish state as having a “terrorist, baby-killer government”.

“US policies in the region are 180 degrees in contrast to Iran’s policies,” Mr Khamenei said. “Whether this [deal] is approved or disapproved, we won’t give up supporting our friends in the region. The oppressed Palestinian nation, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, the honest mujaheddin of resistance in Lebanon and Palestine will enjoy our constant support.”

Mr Khamenei said that Tehran’s direct talks with Washington were limited to the nuclear issue and that there can’t be any dialogue or deal with the US over other issues.

“We have no negotiations with America about various global and regional issues. We have no negotiations on bilateral issues,” he said.

However, the supreme leader has said in the past that the door to other issues could open should the US carry out its obligations under the deal in good faith.

* Associated Press