ran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said President Donald Trump has exposed Washington’s real objective toward Tehran—forcing submission.
“The man who is now in office in the U.S. wants Iran to be obedient to the US,” Khamenei wrote on his official X account, making clear that Tehran has no plans to yield, even as the U.S. and European nations weigh new sanctions.
Iran remains locked in a tense standoff with the U.S. and Western allies over its nuclear enrichment program. Diplomatic efforts collapsed after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, with Trump warning of further strikes if Iran does not shift its course. Tehran has since declared its military on high alert under the fragile ceasefire with Israel.
Khamenei said Trump’s remarks and policies represent an effort to subdue Iran, calling them “a grave insult” to the nation. He vowed that Iran “will stand with all its might against anyone who has such a wrongful expectation.”
He dismissed proposals for direct talks with Washington as unrealistic, insisting the dispute runs much deeper. “This is not a matter that can be resolved,” he said.
The Trump administration has kept up pressure on Iran’s oil sector with sanctions before and after the nuclear talks, which ultimately broke down following Israeli strikes and subsequent U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Khamenei also accused Washington of supporting Israel against Tehran, citing Iran’s retaliatory strikes. He urged action against what he called Israel’s “crimes” against Palestinians and praised the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen as a model of resistance.
In a speech on August 24, Khamenei said: “The gentleman currently in power in America has revealed their true objective. He said their confrontation with Iran is because they want Iran to obey America’s commands, meaning, in reality, they want the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic system to submit to their commands. […] The Iranian nation feels deeply offended by such a grave insult, and it will stand with all its might against anyone who has such a wrongful expectation of it.”
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, wrote on Truth Social on August 7: “Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally OBLITERATED, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern Countries join the Abraham Accords. This will insure PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
European powers have warned they may invoke the “snapback mechanism” to reimpose sanctions by the end of the month if no progress is made in nuclear negotiations.
