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According to the Yitong News Agency, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on August 24th, local time, that the United States tried to force Iran to obey through confrontation, and the Iranian people would resolutely resist this humiliating demand. Khamenei also criticized that those who advocate direct negotiations with the United States to solve the problem are "superficial".

¡°The Supreme Leader of Iran ruled out the possibility of direct negotiations with the United States,¡± the Financial Times commented, noting that it was at the time of Khamenei¡¯s remarks that the Iranian reformists called for the resumption of diplomatic relations with the United States, a move that sparked dissatisfaction among the Iranian hardliners.

Khameneily spoke to thousands in public for the first time since the Iraqi conflict in June, before publishing only brief video messages and attending limited ceremonial activities.

According to the Financial Times, Khamenei's absence has raised concerns about the stability of Iran's leadership after Israel's death threats, and at the same time, there is growing pressure within Iran to demand that leadership change its course and improve relations with Washington.

In a speech on the 24th, Khamenei said: "The American politicians currently in power have exposed the nature of their hostility to Iran-they are essentially trying to bring the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic to their knees." He did not name US President Trump.

Khamenei also criticised Iranian politicians who advocate direct talks with the US as "superficial", stressing that "the Iranian nation will resolutely resist such demands".

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei makes a public speech

In an interview last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Al-Araqi said he had been in contact with U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkov, who proposed a resumption of talks.

The Financial Times pointed out that Iranian reformists are now increasingly vocal, seeking to push Iran to restart diplomatic relations with the United States, and calling for a suspension of uranium enrichment activities and a resumption of negotiations aimed at ending decades of hostilities. However, Iranian hardliners reacted vehemently, and some even proposed to remove Iran's reformist President Pezehizyan, who was elected last year.

Khamenei expressed support for Pezehizyan in his speech on the 24th:"The people should support those who serve the country, especially those who are as diligent and persistent as the president." Reports said that Khamenei was apparently fighting back against hardliners 'calls for Pezehizyan to be dismissed.

Khamenei warned that hostile forces are trying to create divisions within Iran to their goals and called on the entire Iranian people, officials and intellectuals to make every effort to uphold and consolidate the current unity.

In the early hours of June 13 local time, Israel suddenly launched a military strike against Iran, striking dozens of targets in Iran related to its nuclear program and other military facilities. The 12-day military conflict killed more than 1,000 civilians and killed dozens of senior Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists. During this period, the United States briefly bombed Iran's nuclear facilities.

Despite the cessation of open hostilities, a formal ceasefire agreement has not yet been reached, and foreigners are concerned that the conflict will break out again, according to the Financial Times, the recent multi-sequential fires in Iran have increased public concerns about a ¡°dark war¡± still ongoing, but Iranian officials have denied it.

In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement, and then resumed and continuously escalated unilateral sanctions against Iran. Under the mediation of Oman, the United States and Iran have held five rounds of indirect negotiations mediated by mediators since April this year. The two sides have huge differences on some core issues. The sixth round of negotiations was originally scheduled for June 15, and Iran withdrew from nuclear talks with the United States after Israeli air strikes against Iran.

On August 22, before Khamenei¡¯s speech, Al-Araqi made a phone call with the Foreign Ministers of the British Federation and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. According to CNN news reports, Al-Araqi outlined Iran¡¯s position on the so-called ¡°rapid reinstatement of sanctions¡± mechanism and the responsibilities of the European Union and the three countries in this regard. Al-Araqi said Iran has never abandoned its diplomatic path and is willing to accept any diplomatic solution that safeguards the interests of the Iranian people.

European officials said European countries were willing to seek a diplomatic solution.The parties decided that negotiations between Iran and the three Deputy Foreign Ministers will continue this month.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kallas said that Europe is committed to resolving the nuclear issue through diplomatic channels. As the deadline for the "quick restoration of sanctions" regime approaches, whether Iran is ready to engage with the United States is critical. Kallas said that Iran must fully cooperate with the United States.

Extended reading

As part of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia facilitated by the United States, the two countries will sign a joint declaration determining the establishment of a transit corridor through Armenia between Azerbaijan and the Philippines.

According to Iranian News Agency local time on August 9, Iran's top leader foreign adviser and former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati said that the Iranian side opposed the construction of the transit corridor on the Iranian border, and Trump seemed to think he was a real estate agent and wanted to rent a land or territory, "but Verayati noted that the South Caucasus region was not a "uninhabited zone" that US President Trump could rent.

Velayati called the Caucasus "one of the most sensitive geographical points in the world" and said that if this transit corridor is built, it will become "the grave of Trump mercenaries" in the future.

Bloomberg local time on August 9 mentioned that once the transit corridor plan was implemented, it would change the geopolitical position and borders of the region. Verayati said, ¡°The plan¡¯s intention is to split Armenia.¡± ¡°The idea of renting the corridor to other countries is childish, and Trump is pretending to be a fool. Trump claims that it can be rented from the other end of the world, just like someone rented the Panama Canal to themselves. That¡¯s not possible and will not happen.¡± Verayati said that Iran believes Russia is also strategically opposed to the corridor.

Iranian Supreme Leader Foreign Affairs Advisor and Former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velaiti

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the issue of Innargo-Karabakh (Naka region). Although the two countries reached a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in 1994, it has been hostile and armed conflict has occurred.

With Armenia defeated in the second Naka conflict that broke out in September 2020, and Azerbaijan re-launched military operations in the second half of 2023, eventually taking control of the entire Naka region, Armenia began to retreat geopolitically.

In December 2023, Azerbaijan and Armenia issued a joint statement reaffirming their intention to normalize relations and reach a peace agreement based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, but after entering 2025, it was difficult for the two countries to reach agreement on a draft peace agreement, and the mediation between Turkey, the UAE and other parties once stalled.

On August 7, local time, Trump posted on social media that the U.S. government has been in continuous contact with the two countries for some time and looks forward to fully unleashing the potential of the South Caucasus in the future. After that, he announced that Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan would hold a "historic peace summit" and a "peace agreement signing ceremony" at the White House.

On August 8, local time, Azerbaijan and Armenia issued a joint statement announcing that the two countries signed a peace agreement in Washington on the same day, and that after 40 years of conflict, "the conditions for establishing good-neighborly relations have finally been created."

It is noteworthy that White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly revealed at a press conference on August 8 local time that the two countries will sign a joint statement determining the establishment of a transit corridor across Armenia between Azerbaijan and the Philippines. She boasted that the United States will then have the exclusive franchise to develop the corridor granted by Armenia and the 99-year operating right, which will be named as the so-called ¡°Trump International Road to Peace and Prosperity¡± (TRIPP).

In fact, the establishment of this transit corridor will also separate Armenia and Iran, so that the two countries will no longer be connected.

Location of the so-called "Trump International Road to Peace and Prosperity" transit corridor Bloomberg

In addition, Azerbaijan and Armenia are also expected to sign bilateral economic agreements with the United States.Anonymous White House official is also delighted that ¡°Armenia will have a huge strategic business partner, which may be the most powerful and strategic partner in the history of the world: the United States,¡± he said, ¡°and the losers here will be China, Russia and Iran.¡±

According to a report by the Russian Sputnik News Agency on August 9 local time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said that the talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijan leadership in the United States are worthy of recognition, but the intervention of extraterritorial forces should not create additional difficulties.

"We have always supported all efforts that contribute to the achievement of key security objectives in the region, so the meeting of the leaders of the South Caucasus Republic in Washington, brokered by the United States, deserves recognition. Hopefully, this initiative will help advance the peace agenda," Zakharova said. The best solution to the problems in the South Caucasus lies in seeking and implementing solutions developed by the countries of the region with the support of neighbouring Russia, Iran and Turkey, Zakharova said.

According to comprehensive US media reports, this 42-kilometer-long transit corridor is expected to include railway lines, oil and gas pipelines and optical fiber lines, allowing the passage of goods and people, and is managed by a private American company. The American company will get 40% of the proceeds, while Armenia only accounts for 30%.

The Nikkei Asia magazine quoted analysts as saying that the United States was trying to intervene in the South Caucasus, a strategic location of great concern to Russia, Iran and China, by brokering the Asia-Afghanistan peace process. "This is equivalent to planting the American flag at the intersection of the borders of Russia, Iran and Turkey," said Brenda Shaffer, a professor at the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

The layout directly targets the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TITR, also known as the "Middle Corridor"), which connects Central Europe and travels through Central Asia, and is seen by the United States as a strategic alternative to avoiding Russia and Iran.

If the TRIPP project succeeds, the U.S. dominance over the ¡°Middle Corridor¡± will be greatly increased, and the regional economic pattern may change, thereby diverting the regional influence of China¡¯s ¡°Belt and Road¡± initiative.

The US action has also been interpreted as an important step in the Trump administration's strategy of "containing China with regional pivots."

Some analysts say that from a broader perspective, the involvement of the United States in the South Caucasus has added a "new dimension" to Trump's foreign policy. In addition to the strategy of "returning to Asia", the Trump administration believes that consolidating its position in the South Caucasus, the Middle East and other regions will help the United States better compete with China.

Zineb Riboua, a researcher at the Hudson Institute, claimed that if the United States wants to formulate a global policy against China, it needs to ensure that China does not "shake a wave" in the Red Sea, Djibouti and other places.

Based on this demand to contain China, the South Caucasus is regarded by the United States as a "strategic button" connecting the Middle East with Europe and Central Asia. By strengthening the influence of the United States at the "crossroads" of Eurasia, it provides "indirect leverage" for putting pressure on China.

In February this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said that the "Belt and Road" is an economic cooperation initiative, since 2013, the field of cooperation has been continuously expanding, the scope of cooperation has been expanding, the results of cooperation have continuously benefited the people of all countries, has become the world's most popular international public goods and the largest international cooperation platform "Belt and Road" cooperation has benefited the people of more than 150 countries, strongly promoted the common development of developing countries.