TEHRAN, March 17 — Iran's new Supreme Leader has rejected de-escalation proposals conveyed to Tehran by intermediaries, demanding that Israel and the United States (US) first be "brought to their knees", a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei held his first foreign policy session since being named to the position, and had taken a stance for revenge against the US and Israel that was “very tough and serious”, the official said, without clarifying whether the leader attended in person or remotely.
The senior official, who asked not to be identified, said two intermediary countries had conveyed proposals to Iran's Foreign Ministry for "reducing tensions or ceasefire with the United States". The official did not give further details of the proposals or the intermediaries.
Khamenei had responded that it was not "the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation."
The Supreme Leader has the final say in all matters of state in the Islamic Republic. No new images have been released of him since his selection over a week ago by a clerical assembly to replace his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Some Iranian officials have said he was lightly injured in the strikes that killed his father. US officials have suggested he suffered severe injuries.
The US-Israeli war on Iran is in its third week, with at least 2,000 people dead and no end in sight. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, with US allies rebuffing US President Donald Trump's request for help reopening the critical waterway, raising energy prices and fueling fears of inflation.
In his first public message since being elected, which was read out by a state TV broadcaster last week, Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure on "Iran's enemies".
On March 14, three sources told Reuters 14 that Trump's administration had rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war.
