TFS Note: You would think that Obama’s Iran Deal would temper Iranian behavior (According to Obama’s national security staff), but instead we get the terrorist Khamenei threatening America. This is the thug Obama is rewarding with $150 Billion in hard cold cash. May God help us all.
Source: The Wall Street Journal – by Asa Fitch and Aresu Eqbali (Iran’s Khamenei Warns Countries Against Dictating Syria’s Political Future)
Supreme leader also rejects direct talks with the U.S. on regional issues
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday warned against foreign countries dictating Syria’s political future and rejected direct talks with the U.S. on regional issues following recent negotiations to end the long-running Syrian civil war.
“We believe it doesn’t make sense that other countries get together and decide about a governing system and the head of that state,” Mr. Khamenei told Iranian diplomats and government officials, according to his official website Khamenei.ir. “This is a dangerous initiative which no country in the world would accept to be done for itself.”
The fate of the Syrian head of state—President Bashar al-Assad—has been a crux of disagreement between Iran and the U.S. in forging a political solution to the Syrian war. Iranian officials are expected to adhere to the views of Mr. Khamenei, who has final say in most matters of state.
Iran has been a major financial and military supporter of Mr. Assad. But Iranian officials say it is up to the Syrian people to decide whether he stays in power as part of any peace settlement.
The U.S. and its regional Arab allies, meanwhile, back numerous armed groups opposed to Mr. Assad’s rule.
Mr. Khamenei said that elections must take place in Syria, but that it was imperative first for money and arms to stop going to opponents of Mr. Assad.
“First, war and unrest should end so that the Syrian people can elect anyone they want in a peaceful and calm environment,” Mr. Khamenei said.
For most of the civil war, the U.S. has insisted that Mr. Assad leave power as part of a peace deal, but that stance has moderated recently. American officials now say the president could stay in power, but only as part of a political transition that eventually sees him go.
Iranian officials have characterized this moderation as a victory for Iranian diplomacy. But many differences remain over Syria’s political future, among other regional issues.
The U.S. joined Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries in a new round of Syria talks in Vienna on Friday.
Following the meetings, the countries agreed to continue discussions in the coming weeks, under the understanding that Mr. Assad would keep his position for the time being.
The summit marked the first time Iran had been invited to high-level Syria talks alongside its rival Saudi Arabia, raising fresh hopes for a negotiated solution to the conflict, which the U.N. estimates has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions.
Despite sitting at the table alongside the U.S. in Vienna, Mr. Khamenei on Sunday reiterated his distrust of American intentions in the region. “The main reason for regional insecurity is the U.S. support for the Zionist regime and terrorist groups, and these policies are 180 degrees different from those of the Islamic Republic,” he said.
Mr. Khamenei has stressed in recent speeches that Iranian animosity toward the U.S. hasn’t dimmed despite the historic nuclear deal it reached in July with six world powers, including the U.S.
The supreme leader has barred Iranian officials from direct negotiations with the U.S. outside of the nuclear issue, calling the U.S. an agent of infiltration into Iranian affairs and blasting its support for Israel, an Iranian enemy.
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