Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's rejection of talks with the United States is final, Iran’s parliament speaker said, emphasizing that when Khamenei calls such negotiations “not honorable,” the decision is settled.
"Yesterday, the Supreme Leader made a clear and explicit statement on negotiations, which defines the consensus," he said. "My expectation and demand are that the president and his government colleagues align their actions with these directives and move forward accordingly."
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also acknowledged internal divisions on the issue, warning against framing the debate as a simple "yes or no" to negotiations within the country's political landscape.
He also touched upon Khamenei's comments from the previous day, in which the Supreme Leader dismissed the idea of talks with Washington, calling them neither “wise, intelligent nor honorable.”
“Negotiations with the United States have no impact on solving the country's problems. We must understand this correctly and not be misled into thinking that sitting at the negotiation table with that government will resolve certain issues. No, negotiations with the United States will not solve any problems,” Khamenei said on Friday.
Khamenei’s remarks directly challenged those, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had expressed openness to potential discussions with the US on a new nuclear deal.
Trump called for Iran's full disarmament in written message
Ghalibaf said the Trump administration has sent a written message to Iran calling for the full disarmament of the Islamic Republic.
“The issue is not nuclear anymore. They speak of nuclear, missile, conventional and unconventional weapons; these are meant to disarm the Islamic Republic.”
Since 2018, when Trump imposed fresh oil export and banking sanctions, Iran's economy has worsened dramatically. The decline has been further exacerbated by decades of mismanagement, corruption, and a focus on funding foreign conflicts rather than addressing domestic needs.
The national currency has plummeted by 95%, losing 22 times its value, while inflation has remained stubbornly high at around 40% for the past five years. Official estimates now suggest that over a third of the population lives below the poverty line.
“The issue of Palestine is a fundamental matter for us, and the victory of Palestine is a certainty,” Khamenei said during the meeting.
The Hamas delegation was led by Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Chairman of the Hamas Shura Council, and included Khalil al-Hayya, Deputy Head of Hamas' Political Bureau, and Zaher Jabarin, Hamas’ head in the West Bank. The senior officials celebrated what they described as a 'great victory of the resistance in Gaza' and praised Iran's consistent support.
The meeting took place as the US reinstated its “maximum pressure” policy on Tehran, with President Donald Trump indicating a preference for renewed nuclear talks. However, in a separate address on Friday, Khamenei firmly rejected any prospect of negotiations, stating, "Negotiating with such a government should not be done; it is neither wise, intelligent, nor honorable."
On Saturday, Khamenei also dismissed US pressure on Iran, asserting, "These threats do not affect the mindset of our nation, our officials, or our youth." He reiterated that Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause remains steadfast, describing it as "a resolved matter in the minds of the Iranian people."
Addressing the Hamas leaders, Khamenei said, “You have not only defeated the Zionist regime but, in reality, you have overcome the United States,” framing Gaza’s recent military actions as part of a broader resistance against Western influence.
In addition to rejecting diplomatic overtures, Khamenei dismissed the notion that negotiations could ease Iran’s economic struggles.
Since 2018, when Trump reimposed sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports and banking sector, the country’s economy has sharply deteriorated. This decline has been further compounded by decades of domestic mismanagement, corruption, and a focus on foreign activities over internal welfare.
The Iranian rial has lost 95% of its value, plunging 22-fold, while inflation has hovered around 40% for the past five years. Official estimates suggest that more than one-third of the population now lives below the poverty line.
Reformist figures, including political commentators Abbas Abdi and Ahmad Zeidabadi, have repeatedly urged Pezeshkian to initiate negotiations with the United States to ease or lift sanctions. Calls for diplomacy grew louder in the media after US President Donald Trump stated earlier this week that he was ready to meet his Iranian counterpart.
This may shift after Khamenei’s February 7 speech, where he rejected talks with Washington and warned that Iran would respond to threats in kind. A relative media blackout in Iran on Friday suggested a changing landscape. Still, warnings to Pezeshkian remain relevant.
In one of the latest warnings, Abdi wrote in Etemad newspaper that Pezeshkian risks losing public trust if he fails to uphold his promises. Citing an example, Abdi noted that Pezeshkian has yet to deliver on his pledge to lift internet restrictions. He warned that "soon, Iranians will no longer need filter-breakers (VPNs), thanks to Elon Musk’s help."
Abdi also noted that "public trust in Pezeshkian’s administration was low from the outset, as many believed that meaningful change was unlikely under the current political structure. They were convinced that achieving anything effective was nearly impossible."
In Iran, references to phrases like “the current political structure” are widely understood to imply that Khamenei, as the ultimate decision-maker, opposes opening up to the West and abandoning his nuclear ambitions.
Two weeks ago, when Khamenei appeared to signal approval for talks with Washington, Zeidabadi criticized Pezeshkian for his inaction. "What are you waiting for? Why don’t you pick up the phone and call Trump?" he asked. Zeidabadi was not alone—many centrist and pro-reform politicians in Iran also urged Pezeshkian to take the initiative and reach out to Trump.
With Khamenei's hardline stance, calls for rapprochement with Washington are unlikely to persist, at least for now. However, since Khamenei cannot be openly criticized or challenged, the press and politicians will likely shift back to blaming the Pezeshkian administration for inaction and inefficiency in improving people's lives.
Even in his Friday speech, Khamenei assigned Pezeshkian the task of fixing the country's economic problems—as if unaware that without resolving Iran’s biggest foreign policy issue with the United States, any economic improvement is unlikely. This has been evident since 2018 when Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal after Tehran refused to address broader US concerns over its regional activities.
Abbas Abdi in turn called on Pezeshkian "to be honest with the people as honesty is the only remedy for distrust."
The challenge for Pezeshkian is that he cannot openly admit to the public that his ability to fix the economy is severely limited or point to Khamenei’s hardline stance as the root of their hardships.
According to Etemad in its introduction to Abdi’s article, "public trust in Pezeshkian has significantly declined since September, and his popularity has suffered due to his failure to fulfill his promises." Abdi warned that "if Pezeshkian cannot deliver meaningful progress by the Iranian New Year in late March, he will have little time to recover what he has lost."
Abdi and several other commentators argue that Pezeshkian has raised public expectations for lifting sanctions and improving the economy, making it his biggest challenge alongside ongoing energy shortages. Etemad reported that "a September poll found that 59 percent of Iranians considered lifting sanctions their top priority."
Since Tehran’s media is unlikely to criticize Khamenei for his hardline speech on Friday, state television instead praised him and his threats against the United States. Meanwhile, print media is left with only one option—criticizing Pezeshkian while avoiding any mention of Khamenei’s role in the economic crisis.
This comes as hardline former Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told the press on Friday that "Iran's situation is currently far more complicated than in November 2019," when one of the largest protests in the country's history left around 1,500 dead, according to some reports.
Iridium Hexafluoride (IR46) has multiple applications, including in brachytherapy (internal radiotherapy), low-dose medical radiography, and the production of IR192, which serves as a substitute for cobalt-60 (Co-60) in radiotherapy, according to state news ISNA. Additionally, Iran says IR192 is widely used as a radiography source, particularly in the oil and gas industries, non-destructive testing (NDT), and radiobiology research to study the effects of radiation on living tissues.
With the successful production of IR46, Iran says it joins a select group of countries possessing this advanced technology, opening possibilities for exporting the product to other nations.
Mohammad Eslami, the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), visited Isfahan on Saturday to inaugurate several key projects, including the Iridium Hexafluoride (IR46) production line, a comprehensive technical safety testing facility, a semi-industrial sintering furnace for fuel pellets, and a resistance welding (RW) machine at the Shahid Raeisi Nuclear Site.
The Trump administration has reinstated its "maximum pressure" policy on Iran, emphasizing that sanctions will remain unless Tehran agrees to a new deal with the US.
Under pressure for uranium enrichment and alleged secret nuclear activities, Iran always insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and scientific advancement.
While President Trump has expressed openness to negotiations, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei firmly rejected the idea, calling talks with Washington unwise and dishonorable. Khamenei criticized the US for withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, labeling it an act of betrayal. Despite Trump's stated desire for peace, he remains committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, maintaining a hardline stance unless a new agreement is reached.