Iranian leaders slam U.S. threats amid nuclear talks

With the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks underway, perceived threats from U.S. President Donald Trump have drawn sharp condemnation from Iran’s leadership. As tensions rise, Tehran’s indictments risk undermining fragile gains.

On May 16, Trump told reporters, in his usual bellicose fashion, that Iran had better move quickly on a U.S. proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen” according to Reuters.

His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to,” adding that they are “an embarrassment to the speaker and the American people.”

Trump’s statement came aboard Air Force One, shortly after his tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In all three, he was feted with extravagant welcoming ceremonies and elaborate gifts. In the UAE, he received the country’s highest civilian honor, while the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, lit up with the American Flag.

But the tour marked more than just a diplomatic spectacle celebrating lucrative investments. In Saudi Arabia, Trump condemned “Western interventionists… giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.”

His declaration that the U.S. was shifting its policy toward the Middle East away from judgment and confrontation toward peace and profit received high praise.

Tehran is not so sure. “Which should we believe?” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian asked on May 17. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”

The Ayatollah also accused Trump of hypocrisy, saying he speaks of peace and then gives “10-ton bombs to the Zionist regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”

Pezeshkian affirmed that Iran remains committed to the nuclear talks but would not “back down from our legitimate rights,” or “bow to bullying.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X that Tehran had not received a U.S. proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes,” he said, describing Trump’s approach as “confusing and contradictory.”

A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks in Oman concluded on May 11 and was described by the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson as “difficult.”

A new round has not yet been scheduled.

Reuters/ Maghrebi