Trump’s (Art of the Deal)

Khamenei Says Iran Won’t Negotiate With US

By JSALINAS 

In this picture released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting with governmental officials in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, May 14, 2019. Khamenei said his country won’t negotiate with the United States and there will be no war between the two countries. A portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini hangs at rear. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

(AP) – Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says his country won’t negotiate with the United States and there will be no war between the two countries.

Iran’s state TV quoted Khamenei on Tuesday as calling negotiations with the U.S. “poison” and saying: “This is not a military confrontation, because no war is going to happen.”  Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, said: “Neither we, nor they are seeking war, they know that it is not to their benefit.”

The Ayatollah’s comments come as tensions have escalated between Washington and Tehran. The Trump administration has sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and a bomber squadron to the region in response to unspecified threats by Iran against American interests.