Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has declared that the US and Israel must be ‘brought to their knees’ and accept defeat before any peace deal to end the war can be achieved.
The new ayatollah has still not been seen in public since his appointment following the assassination of his father on February 28 during joint US and Israeli air strikes in Tehran.
According to a senior Iranian official, Khamenei rejected proposals for reducing tensions or for a ceasefire with Washington that were conveyed to Tehran by two intermediary countries.
The new ayatollah’s appetite for revenge against the US and Israel was ‘very tough and serious’ in his first foreign policy session, an official told Reuters, without clarifying whether the leader attended the session in person.
The war in Iran is in its third week, with at least 2,000 people dead and no end in sight, with Gulf states hosting US military bases and personnel, as well as Lebanon, being drawn into the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed off, with European allies declining US President Donald Trump’s request for help to reopen the critical waterway, raising energy prices and fears of inflation.
The senior official, who asked not to be named, said the supreme leader had said it was not ‘the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation’.
Three sources told Reuters on March 14 that Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war.
Reports indicate that the 56-year-old supreme leader was flown to Moscow for treatment of ‘serious’ injuries following an airstrike.
A source in Tehran said he had been in a coma in Sina University Hospital, and, due to his condition, did not know of the ongoing war, the de@th of his family members including his wife and son and of his own election as supreme leader.
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