Larijani says negotiating with Trump administration ‘strategic mistake’

Making the remarks Monday in a local event in Tehran, Larijani noted that US officials should understand that they are standing against a fierce rival.

Larijani described those who favor talks with the current US administration as ‘simple-minded’, adding, “negotiating with this individual [President Trump] is meaningless. He has offered 12 preconditions for talks, one of which requires Iran to abandon its nuclear program.”

The discourse that the US administration is following is that of ‘humiliating others’ as all can see in the case of Saudi Arabia. One day they say the Saudi kingdom will collapse if they stop their support and the other day they say 'Saudi Arabia has nothing but money.'

Larijani also said that despite Riyadh's increased hostility against Tehran, “we have never closed the gates of negotiations with them.”

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