Khamenei Rules Out “Deal” Involving Iran’s Missile Program

In an address to Iranian athletes, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised Iran’s missile program and dismissed the prospect of any “deal” with the United States that entails “coercion.” His remarks suggest that, for now, Iran is unwilling to accept the reported U.S. demand to limit the range of its missiles to 500 kilometers (approximately 311 miles).

• October 20: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News released a transcript of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech to Iranian athletes:
  • Commenting on the role of Iran’s missile capabilities during the 12-day war with Israel and the United States, Khamenei said: “The Zionists did not expect that an Iranian missile could, with its flames and fire, penetrate deep into their vital and sensitive centers, destroying and reducing them to ashes … Iran neither purchased nor rented its missiles, but they are handmade and bear the identity of Iranian youth … These missiles were prepared and used by our armed forces and military industries, and they still have them. If necessary, they will be used again.”
  • Turning to President Donald J. Trump’s public comments on “obliterating” Iran’s nuclear facilities, Khamenei said: “It doesn’t matter – keep dreaming. But who are you to dictate what a country can or cannot have in terms of nuclear industry? What does Iran’s possession of nuclear technology have to do with America? Such interference is illegitimate, wrong, and arrogant.”
  • On a possible “deal” between Iran and the United States, Khamenei stated: “He says, ‘I’m a man of deals.’ But if a deal involves coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but imposition and bullying. The Iranian nation will never submit to coercion.”

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