Mohammad Saeidi, the Friday Prayer imam in Qom, said in the sermon of Friday prayers in this city: «You must put it out of your mind that it is possible to get along with them. Anyone who killed our imam, assassinated our commanders, and struck our infrastructure—how can one sit down at the negotiating table with him?»

Saeidi warned against any optimism about negotiations with the United States.

He continued: «We can never work things out with the United States—not because we are incompatible people, but because they are incompatible. They have a problem with the foundations and basis of our country, and from the beginning of the revolution until today, their plan has been based on opposition and hostility.»