Iran’s Supreme Leader Says that the United States Continues To Be a Threat to His Country

The Supreme Leader’s speech on Armed Forces Day on Sunday has once again brought to the surface the distrust that Ali Khamenei has toward the United States. The man who has the final say in all matters of state has accused Washington of having invented the pretext of Iranian nuclear weapons and of continuing to threaten the country with military intervention. His words take on a new dimension in advance of the resumption of nuclear negotiations in Austria on Tuesday, which it is hoped will bring an end to the international isolation of Tehran.

“They have invented a myth about atomic [bombs] in order to ensure that Iran is a threat. No! The threat is from the United States with [their] uncontrolled and destabilizing interventions,” said Khamenei to Iranian leaders and army troops in a speech retransmitted on state television, a translation of which was released on the leader’s Twitter account.

The Iranian president has asked the military to strengthen its preparation in view of the threats uttered by the enemy. “The other side insolently threatens to take military action against us. They act shamelessly and say that the Islamic Republic should not have defensive powers,” he added before a devoted audience. “Iran will never accept those stupid comments,” he said.

Khamenei, who has criticized the United States’ support for Yemen and Israel (“the Zionist regime”), was referring, without specifically mentioning it, to the statements made by Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last Thursday. When asked by a journalist whether the Russian decision to unlock its sale of air defense system S-300 would hinder a possible attack on Iran, Dempsey said that if diplomacy fails, “the military option … still remains.”

Iranian negotiators, to whom the leader has given his blessing, will meet again in Vienna on Tuesday, with their American partners and five other major powers, in order to continue working on the details of the nuclear agreement, the parameters of which were set earlier this month. Although Iran has agreed to temporarily limit its controversial nuclear program in exchange for unblocking the sanctions hindering its economy, there are differences still to be resolved before the June 30 deadline.

Perhaps the most visible discrepancy is linked to the speed with which sanctions are lifted. While the United States and its allies are committed to a progressive system which relies on Iran honoring its commitments, days after the framework agreement was announced Khamenei insisted on the immediate cancellation of all punitive measures linked to the signing of the pact. Like the complaint on Sunday, this is to some extent part of the negotiating game, but it is also a result of the distrust which stems from 35 years of animosity.

Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since the seizure of the U.S. embassy, and in spite of having shared interests in the region, such as the fight against the Islamic State and a desire for stability in Iraq and Afghanistan, they both display antagonistic behavior. It is for this reason that a nuclear agreement has led to the paranoia that the United States is only interested in a regime change in Iran and the opening of doors to further cooperation.