In a fiery speech, Khamenei accused the US of "pointing a gun at Iran", stating,
"Negotiating with America will not solve any problems,"
"If some people want American rule to be established again in Iran and are turning a blind eye to the country's national interests and independence in order to please Americans, then the nation will confront them".
The Ayatollah's speech was given after the United States announced a new round of sanctions on Wednesday, which were set to target the country's broadcasting authority and a major electronics producer.
David S. Cohen, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said the moves was to “intensify the economic pressure against the Iranian regime”, commenting,
“We will also target those in Iran who are responsible for human rights abuses, especially those who deny the Iranian people their basic freedoms of expression, assembly and speech.”
Khamenei's speech also follows from US Vice President Joe Biden's comments on Saturday, where he said,
"There is still time, there is still space for diplomacy backed by pressure to succeed. The ball is in the government of Iran's court... But we have also made clear that Iran's leaders need not sentence their people to economic deprivation and international isolation."
The speech is likely to embarrass Iran's foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who welcomed Biden's remarks, commenting,
"I would like to say that these are good signs … We are a rational government and we look into resolving all outstanding international issues through negotiation".
