Larijani Rejects US Talks as Tensions Peak After Khamenei’s Death
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, March 2, 2026, Larijani clarified that Iran has no intention of engaging in dialogue with the United States under the current circumstances. His statement was a direct response to a Wall Street Journal report claiming that, following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Larijani had reached out through Omani intermediaries to restart diplomatic engagement.
Larijani, who was appointed to his current role by President Masoud Pezeshkian in August 2025, labeled the media claims "baseless" and accused U.S. President Donald Trump of plunging the region into "chaos with delusional fantasies." He further asserted that the "America First" policy had been transformed into "Israel First," sacrificing American troops for what he described as "Israel's lust for power." These remarks highlight a significant hardening of Tehran's stance following the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes over the weekend.
The diplomatic collapse follows a brief window of potential engagement when Iranian and U.S. officials held indirect talks in Geneva just last Thursday. While a follow-up meeting was scheduled for Monday in Vienna, the weekend's massive military operation—which resulted in the deaths of Khamenei and several top military commanders—has effectively ended all immediate prospects for a diplomatic solution. Larijani warned that any further aggression would be met with "indiscriminate" retaliation against U.S. assets and regional bases used in the attacks.
