Tehran 0
17 January 2020

Referring to the UK, France and Germany’s 14 January decision to trigger the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remarked that “it has been proven that they are truly the footmen of the U.S.”. “These abject countries”, Khamenei continued, “look forward to bringing the Iranian nation to its knees. The U.S. who was bigger than you, your master and your leader, was unable to bring the Iranian nation to its knees. You are not powerful enough to [do so]”. He also stated that Iran’s January 8 attack against Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces had “destroy[ed] the dignity and awe of the tyrannical, arrogant U.S. government. However, the main punishment will be expulsion [of the U.S.] from the region”. On negotiation, Khamenei emphasised that “we are not afraid of negotiating. Of course, we will not negotiate with the U.S., rather we will negotiate with others. And we will not negotiate from a position of weakness, rather, from a position of strength and power. We are thankfully strong and we will even become stronger by Allah’s favor”.

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