Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that Washington seeks Tehran's submission and uses the nuclear program as a means to that end.
“The core issue is neither nuclear energy, nor human rights nor other apparent matters; the real aim is sovereignty and governance, the ancient conflict between tyrants and prophets,” Abdullah Haji-Sadeqi said in a speech in the holy city of Qom.
The remarks, a day after a key foreign policy aide to Khamenei ruled out US demands on reining in Iran's regional military activities and missile capacity, suggest Iran's 86-year-old ultimate decision maker maintains a hardline stance opposing any detente.
“The Leader of the Revolution said the whole dispute is that America says Iran must obey us. We, the Iranian nation, must properly understand this truth,” Haji-Sadeqi said. “If nuclear energy, human rights, or other issues are mentioned, all of these are merely tools to achieve that main goal.”
Trump administration earlier this year gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to reach a nuclear deal, demanding it end all domestic uranium enrichment. Tehran denies seeking a weapon and sees enrichment as a right.
On June 13, the 61st day since US-Iran talks began, Israel launched a surprise military campaign which killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians.
On June 22, the United States joined the fighting with strikes by B-2 bombers and submarine-launched missiles on three Iranian nuclear sites which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said "obliterated" the country's nuclear program.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and has condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and international law.
Rights groups have criticized Tehran's rights record, as Iran has executed at least 1,172 people this year according to the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran.
Amnesty International reported that between January and September 2025, Iran executed more than 1,000 people — the highest number in three decades — marking a 75% increase in the first four months alone (343 compared with 195 in 2024).
At least 404 executions have taken place since the June Israel-Iran war, according to the human rights organization Hengaw.
