Iran's top leader defends hard-line approach toward West, blames protests on 'thugs and villains'
Iran’s supreme leader has defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran’s enemies DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran's supreme leader on Sunday defended his tough approach to the West, saying compromise would only invite further hostility from Iran's enemies and blaming recent anti-government protests on “thugs and villains .” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks come amid an intensifying standoff with Western countries over Iran's nuclear program, which has made major advances in the five years since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from an international accord that restricted it. Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran that have contributed to a severe economic crisis without forcing any concessions from its leader s. Iran has also lent support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, supplying armed drones that have wreaked havoc on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. “Some people are mistaken to thi...