Khamenei after meeting Abe: ‘Trump not worth exchanging messages with’

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei stated that the US President Donald Trump “is not worth” exchanging messages with and that he has no answers or special messages to send him.

Khamenei’s comments came during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tehran, on Thursday. The Iranian and Japanese leaders discussed a number of issues, including Iranian nuclear project and threats in the Middle East.

According to Agence France Presse, Khamenei indicated during the meeting: “If we have an intention to acquire nuclear weapons, the United States will not be able to stop us.”

Khamenei added: “Our Islamic law forbids manufacturing nuclear arms. But if we wanted to create them, Washington will not be able to do anything about it.”

Abe said: “no one wants a war and Japan hopes to play a leading role in reducing tension.”

 Rouhani: Japan wants to keep buying Iranian oil

He said: “We must avoid conflict all costs,” noting that  “peace and stability in the Middle East are imperative not only for the region’s prosperity but also for the whole world.”

Abe also expressed his “deep appreciation for the emphasis of Iran’s Supreme Leader on the fatwa forbidding manufacturing nuclear arms and all weapons of mass destruction.”

After facing pressure from Washington, in May Iran threatened to gradually move away from the nuclear deal, unless its partners in the agreement, especially the Europeans, help them circumvent the US sanctions.

Abe’s visit came amid heightened tension between Iran and the United States, raising fears of an outbreak of violence in the Gulf region and concerns over the future of the Iranian nuclear deal, signed in Vienna in 2015, after Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the agreement in May 2018.

Tokyo, which imports 5 per cent of its oil from Iran, was recently forced to abandon its purchases from the Iranian authorities, in line with US sanctions against Tehran.