Exclusive-Iran’s new supreme leader rejects de-escalation proposals conveyed by intermediaries, Iran official says
By Parisa Hafezi
March 17 (Reuters) – Iran’s new supreme leader has rejected proposals to ease tensions conveyed to Tehran by intermediaries and demanded that Israel and the United States “be brought to their knees first,” a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
Ayatollah Mojtaba held his first foreign policy session since being elected supreme leader and took a “very tough and serious” stance to take revenge against the United States and Israel, the official said, without clarifying whether the leader attended in person or remotely.
The senior official, who did not want to be named, said that the two intermediary countries sent proposals to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for “reducing tensions or a ceasefire with the USA”. The official did not provide further details about the offers or intermediaries.
The religious leader said this was not “the right time for peace until the United States and Israel get on their knees, admit defeat and pay reparations.”
The religious leader has the final say in all state matters in the Islamic Republic. No new photos of him have been published since he was chosen by the religious council to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a week ago.
Some Iranian officials said that he was slightly injured in the attacks in which his father was killed. US officials claimed he was seriously injured.
The US-Israeli war against Iran is in its third week, with at least 2,000 people dead and no end in sight. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed; U.S. allies are turning down U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for help reopening the critical waterway, energy prices are rising and inflation fears are rising.
In his first public message since his election, read by a state television broadcaster last week, the new religious leader said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a means of pressure on “Iran’s enemies.”
Three sources told Reuters on March 14 that the Trump administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to open diplomatic talks aimed at ending the Iran war.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Aidan Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Peter Graff)
