Senior cleric says Iran hates negotiating with US
A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday there was no reason to negotiate with the United States until Washington changed its behavior, adding that Iranians felt hatred and distrust toward talks with the US.
Mohammad-Bagher Mohammadi Laeini, Friday prayer leader in the northern city of Sari, said Iranian political and diplomatic officials should deal with the United States “with dignity” and that “as long as there is no change in its behavior, there is no reason for negotiations.”
“The Iranian nation also feels hatred and distrust toward negotiations with the United States,” he said.
Laeini said Iran’s enemies had a problem with “an independent Iran, the Islamic Republic and Islam,” adding that Western culture was incompatible with religious values.
He also said any country that stood alongside the United States and Israel was “on the side of falsehood,” while governments and nations that supported “the oppressed” were “on the side of truth.”