TEHRAN,
Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader announced on Tuesday that “there will
be no talks with the U.S. at any level” — remarks apparently meant to
end all speculation about a possible U.S.-Iran meeting between the two
countries’ presidents at the U.N. later this month.
Iranian
state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying this is the position
of the entire leadership of the country and that “all officials in the
Islamic Republic unanimously believe” this.
“There will be no talks with the U.S. at any level,” he said.
Khamenei said the U.S. wants to prove its “maximum pressure policy” against Iran is successful.
“In
return, we have to prove that the policy is not worth a penny for the
Iranian nation,” Khamenei said. “That’s why all Iranian officials, from
the president and the foreign minister to all others have announced that
we do not negotiate (with the U.S.) either bilaterally or
multilaterally.”
There had been reports
about a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and his Iranian
counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly
this month in New York.
But
tensions roiling the Persian Gulf have escalated following a weekend
attack on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia that the U.S. alleged Iran was
responsible for — a charge Iran denies.
The
crisis between Washington and Tehran stems from Trump’s pullout last
year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. He also
re-imposed and escalated sanctions on Iran that sent the country’s
economy into freefall.
The attack on Saudi
Arabia, which set ablaze a crucial Saudi oil processing plant and a key
oil field, was claimed by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels, who are
at war with a Saudi-led coalition that is trying to restore Yemen’s
internationally recognized government to power.
Trump
declared Monday it “looks” like Iran was behind the explosive attack on
the Saudi oil facilities. But he stressed that military retaliation was
not yet on the table in response to the strike against a key U.S.
Mideast ally.
Oil prices soared worldwide
amid the damage in Saudi Arabia and fresh Middle East war concerns. But
Trump put the brakes on any talk of quick military action — earlier he
had said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” — and he said the oil impact
would not be significant on the U.S., which is a net energy exporter.
The
Saudi government called the attack an “unprecedented act of aggression
and sabotage” but stopped short of directly pinning blame on Iran.
One
U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal
deliberations, said the U.S. was considering dispatching additional
military resources to the Gulf but that no decisions had been made. The
U.S. already has the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group
in the area, as well as fighter jets, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft
and air defenses.
Trump, alternating between
aggressive and nonviolent reactions, said the U.S. could respond “with
an attack many, many times larger” but also “I’m not looking at options
right now.”
American officials released
satellite images of the damage at the heart of the kingdom’s Abqaiq
processing plant and a key oil field, and two U.S. officials said the
attackers used multiple cruise missiles and drone aircraft.
Private
experts said the satellite images show the attackers had detailed
knowledge of which tanks and machinery to hit within the sprawling Saudi
oil processing facility at Abqaiq to cripple production. But “satellite
imagery can’t show you where the attack originated from,” said Joe
Bermudez, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies who examined the images.
The U.S.
alleges the pattern of destruction suggested Saturday’s attack did not
come from neighboring Yemen, as claimed by the Houthis there. A Saudi
military alleged “Iranian weapons” had been used.
The Saudis invited the U.N. and other international experts to help investigate, suggesting there was no rush to retaliate.
For
his part, Khamenei on Tuesday also reiterated Iran’s stance that if the
U.S. returns to the nuclear deal, Tehran would consider negotiations.
“Otherwise, no talks will happen ... with the Americans,” he said. “Neither in New York nor anywhere” else.
___
Associated Press writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.