A woman stands in front of a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei during a ceremony in Tehran, June 4, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, ruled out any possibility of a meeting — suggested by Donald Trump — between the U.S. president and Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a televised interview aired Thursday.
Donald Trump said Wednesday that he “would like to meet” Khamenei, in an interview with the New York Post’s website, at a time when talks between Tehran and Washington to reach a lasting end to the Middle East war have stalled.
“I saw an article in which he [Donald Trump] hinted that he was ready for a meeting or wanted to arrange a meeting,” Araghchi said in an interview on the Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, broadcast Thursday.
“But I think we have to be realistic,” Araghchi added, ruling out the possibility.
Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, Ali, who was killed on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, triggered by U.S.-Israeli strikes on his residence in Tehran after more than 36 years in power.
But since his appointment in early March as the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, he has not made any public appearances; only written statements have been attributed to him.
“For security reasons, the security services advise him not to have a more significant public presence than currently,” Araghchi emphasized.
Trump has reiterated in recent days that he would like to meet with Mojtaba Khamenei.
“I’d like to meet him. I’d love to meet everybody, and we’ll probably meet, depending on what happens,” Trump told the New York Post.
After 40 days of bombings, a fragile cease-fire took effect on April 8 between Iran and the United States.
But the two belligerents regularly accuse each other of violating the truce, following new strikes this week in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi called on the United States to “recognize the realities of Iran,” to “change the way they view things,” and to “adapt their relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regional power, or even beyond.”
In the interview, the Iranian minister also stated that he himself was in the late supreme leader’s residence at the time of the bombings on Feb. 28.
