Iran rejects Trump's proposal and denies nuclear destruction
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has denied the US president's claim that the US destroyed Iran's nuclear capability.
DUBAI (Reuters) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to resume negotiations and denied Trump's claim that the U.S. had destroyed Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations that culminated in the 12-day air war in June, in which Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
"Trump says he is a negotiator, but if an agreement is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not an agreement, but rather an imposition and intimidation," Khamenei declared, according to state media.
Last week, Trump told the Israeli Parliament that it would be great if Washington could negotiate a "peace deal" with Tehran, following the start of a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"The US president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran's nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!" Khamenei added.
"What does it have to do with the United States whether Iran has nuclear facilities or not? These interventions are inappropriate, wrong, and coercive."
Western powers accuse Iran of secretly trying to develop a nuclear bomb through uranium enrichment and want the country to cease this activity. Tehran denies that it is seeking to weaponize the enriched uranium, stating that the program is exclusively for civilian energy purposes.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafez)
