Iran will not give in to US “bullying” as Washington attempts to undermine Tehran´s nuclear deal with world powers, the Islamic republic´s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday.
“Iran, which is a powerful nation, will not give in to pressure and will not bow,” Khamenei said in an address to police officers in Tehran.
“The corrupt, lying, deceitful US officials insolently accuse the nation of Iran… of lying, whereas the nation of Iran has acted honestly and will continue on this path until the end in an honest manner,” said Khamenei.
“The enemy should know that bullying may work in other parts of world, but it will not work in the Islamic republic.”
President Hassan Rouhani left on Sunday for the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is set to hold crucial talks on the 2015 nuclear deal, which eased international sanctions in exchange for curbs to Iran´s atomic programme.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up the deal and his administration has been looking for grounds to declare Iran in non-compliance, despite repeated UN declarations that Tehran has stuck to its commitments.
“You are the liars. The nation of Iran is standing firm and any wrong move… will face a reaction by the Islamic republic,” said Khamenei.
“They (U.S. administration) have shown wickedness and malicious behavior with regard to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) and the U.S. regime is truly a vicious devil,” Khamenei said referring to the recent chain of sanctions by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration against Iran.
During the negotiations with the world powers in 2013-2015, “the country’s officials reached the conclusion that they should negotiate and ignore some of their rights so that sanctions would be removed,” he said.
“However today, we see that despite all agreements and promises and many discussions during the negotiations, the United States treats these negotiations and their outcome in a totally oppressive and bullying manner,” he was quoted as saying by Press TV.
Khamenei noted that “the Iranian nation is standing firmly, and any wrong move by the hegemonic system concerning the JCPOA would receive the Islamic republic’s reaction,” Tasnim reported.
Over the regional issues, he noted that the reason behind insecurity in the Middle East can be traced back to the “wicked and mischievous interventions” by the United States.
If the regional nations and governments want to block the infiltration of hegemonic powers like the United States into the region, they must really believe in their own ability, he said, adding that “If we step back, the enemy will step forward.”
After years of tension with the West, Iran struck a deal with the world powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in July 2015, under which Iran agreed to limit its uranium-enrichment activities in return for the lifting of western and international sanctions.
The international agreement is facing a serious threat of collapse as tensions mounted between Washington and Tehran recently, the report said.
