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Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the United States (US) is not interested in ending the war in Ukraine. Photo/Al Jazeera
TEHERAN – The highest spiritual leader Iran , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei say, United States of America (The US) is not interested in ending the war in Ukraine, which it says was created by a Western military alliance.
“The US actually started the Ukraine war,” he said in a speech in Mashhad.
“The US created the basis for this war to expand NATO in the east,” he added.
“Now, the US is also the one who has benefited the most from the Ukraine war,” Khamenei said.
“Poor people in Ukraine are facing problems, and arms companies in the US are reaping the benefits, so they won’t agree to end the war,” he added.
Khamenei went on to emphasize Tehran’s position that it was not participating in the war, denying Western claims that Iran had supplied armed drones that Russia was using in the conflict.
Western governments in recent months have imposed numerous sanctions against Iranian entities and officials based on accusations of arming Russia.
Iran is seeking to improve its political and economic ties with Moscow and Beijing as tensions with the West continue to grow on the back of the Ukraine war, deadlocked talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal and anti-government protests since September.
During Tuesday’s speech, Khamenei acknowledged that relations with the West were getting shaky, but he said Tehran was finding allies elsewhere.
