Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran is “neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic” about negotiations with the United States.
Speaking in a meeting with top government officials on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said none of Iran’s industrial, economic, construction-related, or cultural affairs were in anyway dependent on the talks with the U.S., which are being held indirectly in Oman, according to IRNA.
“The negotiations may or may not yield results. We are neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic about them. Of course, we are very skeptical of the other party, but confident about our own capabilities,” the Leader said.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the nation’s affairs must not be conditioned on the Oman talks. He took issue with the execution of the negotiations that led to the Iran deal of 2015, and said the “mistake” of postponing all work until the talks conclude should not be repeated “because the country would become conditioned, and everything, including investment, would be held up until the results of the negotiations are made clear.”
The Leader said the first steps in executing the decision to hold the talks with the United States have proceeded satisfactorily. He urged officials to continue the talks with similar care hereafter.
“The removal of the sanctions is not in our hands, but neutralizing them is; there are many ways and great domestic capacity to do that. If this objective is achieved, the country will become impervious to sanctions,” the Leader said.
