Iran’s Khamenei Says He Doubts Nuclear Talks with U.S. Will Succeed

Iran’s so-called “Supreme Leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tuesday that he does not believe nuclear talks with the United States are going well — in contrast to President Donald Trump, who says a deal is near.

The Times of Israel reported: “I don’t think nuclear talks with the US will bring results. I don’t know,” Khamenei [said] during a speech in remembrance of Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi.”

Last week, as he visited the United Arab Emirates as part of a tour through the Arab world, Trump said that he believed a deal was near with Iran — one that would avoid the need for airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Khamenei’s declaration could simply be an attempt to gain leverage. Trump and Israel have both warned that an attack on Iran is imminent if negotiations fail, because the world will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran.

Elsewhere, other negotiations have also been stalling. Talks on further releases of Israeli hostages by Hamas have stalled in Doha, Qatar, as the terrorist organization refuses to give in to Israeli demands that it disarm and end its role as a governing force in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel refuses to stop its military advance in Gaza, “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” which aims to root out Hamas’s remaining fighters and tunnel infrastructure.

Israel did relent in allowing humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, despite fears that Hamas would continue to use it for its own purposes, though it rejected international criticism of its earlier decision to stop aid until a new system of distributing it could be developed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticized the leaders of France, Canada, and the United Kingdom for calling on Israel to end the war before reaching its objectives.