In his annual speech for the Iranian New Year (Nowruz), Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remained true to his hardline stance. On Friday, March 21, he reaffirmed his opposition to any negotiations with the United States, despite the critical situation Iran is facing both domestically and internationally. "The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran," said Khamenei, who has the final say on all the regime's major decisions.

Back in early February, he had already said that negotiating with the US was "not reasonable, honorable or intelligent." Friday, however, he acknowledged the growing threat of war since the reelection of Donald Trump, whose policy of "maximum pressure" is aligned with Israel's. "They [notably Israel and the US] issue threats, [but] we have never started a confrontation or conflict with anyone. However, if anyone acts with malice and initiates it, they will receive severe slaps," he said to a crowd of supporters in Tehran.

The Guide's latest comments come just over a week after Iran received a letter from the US president on March 12. "Trump's letter was more a threat, but it claims to have opportunities," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explained on Iran's second TV channel on March 20. "We paid attention to all points (...) and will consider both threat and opportunity in our response."

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