Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iranian ambassadors and foreign envoys in Tehran on Wednesday.
“Relations with the U.S. and negotiations with this country, except in certain cases, not only have no value for the Islamic Republic, but are harmful,” the Leader stated, adding no wise person seeks something which is of no value.
The Leader said some believe that “if we sit on the negotiating table with the Americans, many problems will be resolved,” but the negotiations that have been held since last year have proved the opposite.
There were no relations between Iranian and U.S. officials in the past, but last year it was agreed that both countries’ officials would hold talks up to the level of foreign ministers due to the sensitivity of the nuclear issue, and during this time no benefit was gained, and even the tone of U.S. officials became “harsher and more offensive,” the Leader said.
He went on to say that the U.S. did not lessen its enmity and even tightened the sanctions imposed on Iran.
But Ayatollah Khamenei also stated that the nuclear talks the foreign minister and his negotiating team have started will continue.
As long as the U.S. government and Congress continue making hostile remarks about Iran, there is no reason for direct interaction with them, he said.
The Leader also confirmed President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks on Monday, in which he said Iran is seeking interactions with the entire world.
“There are only two exceptions, the Zionist regime and the United States,” he stated.
Ayatollah Khamenei also likened diplomacy to a battlefield, saying if one does not begin the task with serious determination, he will eventually be defeated.
He pointed to the world’s animosity toward the U.S. due to its complicity with the Israelis, saying the entire world knows that the U.S. is complicit in the Zionist regime’s war crimes and acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
He cited “diplomatic cleverness and professionalism”, “flexibility at the proper time”, “impenetrability at the necessary time” and “sincere and deep commitment to goals” as the cornerstones of successful diplomacy.
The Leader also said that he agrees with the Palestinians, who say the Zionist regime should pay them reparations for its crimes, which should include the lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
In a month-long war against the besieged Gaza Strip, over 1950 people have been killed and thousands injured. About half a million people have also been made homeless as a result of the war.
Commenting on the situation in Iraq, he expressed hope that with the naming of a new prime minister-designate, the country’s problems will be resolved and a government can be formed which will teach a good lesson to those who are trying to create a crisis in the country.
On Monday, Iraqi President Fouad Masoum asked Haidar al-Abadi, a Shia coalition’s nominee for the post of prime minister, to form a new government.
Iraq’s National Alliance parliamentary bloc has nominated al-Abadi for the post of prime minister to replace Nouri al-Maliki.
