Tehran: Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Wednesday said he supported US-Iran talks in Baghdad about improving Iraq's security, state-run television reported. But he warned that the talks would only focus on American responsibilities in Iraq not Iranian influence in its neighboring country. "The talks will only be about the responsibility of the occupiers in Iraq," the broadcast quoted Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, as saying. Khamenei rejected that the discussion would involve any talk on Iran-US relations and criticized those who thought that the Islamic country would change its policy toward Washington. "They think that Islamic Republic has changed its firm, logical and defendable policy in rejecting negotiation with the US. They are wrong," he was quoted as saying. "How it is possible to negotiate with the arrogant, bullying, expansionist and colonialist government of the US, especially with the current bold, impolite and demanding leaders?" the state-run television quoted Khamenei as saying. The two countries recently said they would hold ambassador-level talks about Iran's war-torn neighbor, Iraq. Although such talks are seen as a political turnabout, potential for real progress is low as tensions between Iran and the US have continued to escalate.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved talks with the United States to deal with the security situation in Iraq but has said the discussions won't involve other outstanding issues between the two countries such as Iran's nuclear program.

Khamenei, as the supreme leader of Iran, has the final say in all state issues under Iran's Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudence.  Moreover, he is the highest-ranking Islamic cleric in Iran and also has a considerable following in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, and other parts of the Islamic world.

Khamenei make his remarks in a speech in Mashhad where he said, "Iran's policy of not negotiating and having relations with America remains the same until the policies of this arrogant government change."

The United States and Iran have broken diplomatic relations since the Iran hostage crisis in 1980.  Tehran has in the past called the United States the "Great Satan" and the enemy of Islam.  Khamenei believes that rejecting a thorough discussion of all the disagreements between the United States and Iran is a "firm, logical and defendable policy."  The Leader of Islamic Revolution said,

These most recent remarks by Khamenei come after the brief exchange of greetings by Condoleezza Rice and Manouchehr Mottaki at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference in Egypt without a substantive discussion of the security situation of Iraq.

In 2005, Khamenei declared that the United States was responsible for terrorism in Iraq and said, "The presence of aliens in Iraq is harmful and destructive to the Iraqi people."  He also exhorted the American forces to withdraw.