Iranian Supreme Leader Says Will Not Answer Trump's Message From Abe

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused on Thursday to respond to the message from US President Donald Trump delivered to him through Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2019) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused on Thursday to respond to the message from US President Donald Trump delivered to him through Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe, who is currently in Tehran for a three-day visit to help ease the mounting tensions between the Islamic republic and the United States, met the Iranian supreme leader earlier in the day and told him that he wanted to relay a message from Trump.

"I do not consider Trump as a person worth exchanging any message with and I have no answer for him, nor will I respond to him in the future," Khamenei told Abe, as quoted by his official website.

The Iranian supreme leader also rebuffed US assertions that Washington was not seeking to change power in the country.

"Our problem with the United States is not about regime change. Because even if they intend to do pursue that, they won't be able to achieve it; just as previous U.S. presidents tried to destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran during the past 40 years, and failed. What Trump says, that he is not after regime change, is a lie.

For, if he could do so, he would. However, he is not capable of doing it," he said.

Khamenei then once again slammed the United States for its abrupt withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal back in May 2018.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran negotiated for 5, 6 years with the United States and the Europeans�the P 5+1�which led to an agreement [the Iran nuclear deal]. But the United States disregarded and breached this definite agreement. So, what common sense would once again allow negotiations with a state that has thrown away everything that was agreed upon?" he said.

After the United States quit the landmark nuclear deal, tensions between Tehran and Washington went into a downward spiral, with the United States unveiling batches of sanctions against the Islamic republic that targeted the country's finance, transport and military sectors, among others.

In May of this year, Iran announced that it had partially discontinued its commitments under the agreement and gave Europe 60 days to ensure Iran's interests were protected under the deal.