In a televised address, Khamenei lamented that Washington is trying to convince Arab countries that they cannot survive without American support. “This model has definitely failed,” he said. “With the struggles of regional nations, the US must and will leave this region.”
“Some of the remarks made during the US president’s trip to the region aren’t even worth a response at all. The level of those remarks is so low that they are a source of shame for the American nation,” Khamenei said on X.
Trump on Friday concluded a major Gulf tour - his first since returning to office - where he secured long-term partnerships and investments worth trillions of dollars.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum 2025 on Tuesday, Trump labeled Iran the “most destructive force” behind instability in the region.
He said that while “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” it could still have “a much brighter future” if it chooses a path of peace, referencing the ongoing Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.
“I want to make a deal with Iran,” Trump added, but warned that "if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before.”
“Iran has a choice… between continuing its chaos and terror or embracing peace,” the US president said, adding, “We don't have much time to wait.”
In his response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday criticized Trump for making “remarks that reveal his profound misunderstanding of the Iranian people” and rejected “the claim that Iran is a source of insecurity.”
Indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program began on April 12 in Oman.
The revived talks represent the most substantive engagement between the two countries since the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. In response, Iran began gradually scaling back its commitments under the deal.
Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and that the pursuit of nuclear weapons contradicts the principles of the Islamic Republic.
