Khamenei says Trump's 'stupid' Gaza takeover plan headed nowhere

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump’s proposal for Gaza as stupid and doomed to fail in remarks to a top Palestinian militant leader in Tehran posted on his official website.

“This plan will go nowhere, and those who claimed they would destroy the resistance in a short time are now receiving their captives in small groups from resistance fighters,” he said in a meeting with Palestinian Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad al-Nakhalah in Tehran on Tuesday.

The Iranian Supreme Leader's website carried the comments under a headline "America's stupid plan for Gaza will go nowhere".

Trump said earlier this month that he planned to deploy US troops to take control of Gaza and transform it into the "Riviera of the Middle East." He also proposed relocating at least 1.5 million Palestinians to countries like Egypt and Jordan.

Iran’s support for armed groups has been central to the ongoing 15-month conflict with Israel. Earlier this month, Hamas’s acting leader said in Tehran that the group would resist Trump’s plan for US control and reconstruction of Gaza.

As Washington reinstates its "maximum pressure" approach on Tehran, President Donald Trump has shown interest in new nuclear negotiations.

However, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dismissed the possibility, saying, "Negotiating with such a government should not be done; it is neither wise, intelligent, nor honorable."

Since Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, the country has faced economic strain, exacerbated by years of domestic mismanagement and corruption.

The Iranian rial has lost its value dramatically, while inflation has remained near 40% for five consecutive years.