President says Ayatollah Khamenei is not opposed to American investment in Iran
In important remarks ahead of scheduled negotiations between Iran and the United States, the president said he was well-informed about the Leader’s standpoint on the matter since he regularly met with him.
IRNA – President Masoud Pezeshkian says Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is not opposed to U.S. entities investing capital in the Iranian economy.
In important remarks on Wednesday, and ahead of scheduled negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman, the president said he was well-informed about Ayatollah Khamenei’s standpoint on the matter since he regularly met with the Leader.
Pezeshkian said Iran would however not allow infiltration attempts by foreign agents who would seek to spy on the country with an objective to carry out acts of sabotage. “Iran is not the place for a group of individuals to come and conspire to destroy the country, to collect information and then assassinate the people about whom they have collected information,” he said.
But he emphasized that genuine investors would be free to enter the Iranian market.
The president affirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s top negotiator in the scheduled talks with the U.S., would act in accordance with the instructions of the Leader.
“Dr. Araqchi… will negotiate indirectly with the American representatives in Oman on Saturday,” he said. “The Leader of the Revolution said we would negotiate indirectly because we don’t trust the Americans, and our position is clear.”
U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, have claimed that U.S. and Iranian negotiators will be holding “direct” talks. Iranian officials have stressed they will only speak through Omani intermediaries.
Trump, who abandoned a multinational deal with Iran in 2018, had since taking office for a second term expressed a willingness to enter into negotiations with the Islamic Republic to make a new deal. On March 12, he sent a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, and received the Leader’s response later that month.
Trump announced the talks with Iran at the White House on April 7, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat next to him, unimpressed. Iran confirmed the talks later.
