Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Tehran will only sit down for talks with regional governments regarding its presence in the region.
“While the United States has an evil and seditious presence everywhere, it keeps creating uncertainty over Iran’s presence in the [Middle East] region. Do we have to get permission from the US for our presence in our own region?” the Leader said in a Thursday gathering in Tehran.
“Should we hold talks with the regional governments or with you (the US) over our presence in the region?” Ayatollah Khamenei asked rhetorically.
“Whenever we want to be present in the US, then we’ll hold talks with you!”
Ayatollah Khamenei also responded to European officials expressing willingness to negotiate with Iran over its presence in the region, and stressed the same point he emphasized regarding the US.
“This issue is none of your business. Is it our region or yours? What are you doing in our region? We make arrangements with the nations in the region, we have done so, we have moved forward and we will keep moving forward,” he said.
