Iran cannot “interact” with the United States as it is a country whose word cannot be trusted, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
“The first experience is that the government of the Islamic Republic cannot interact with America... Why? Because America is not committed to its promises,” Press TV quoted him in English as saying.
His comments came after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Monday warned that Iran would be hit with the “strongest sanctions in history” and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business in Tehran.
The move was a toughening-up of Washington’s policy line after its withdrawal on May 8 from a landmark nuclear pact aimed at preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Mr Pompeo outlined 12 tough conditions from Washington for any “new deal” with Tehran to make sure it “will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East”.
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US president Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal earlier this month despite intense diplomatic efforts by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher new elements.
Mr Trump opposed the 2015 deal with Iran – also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – believing it did not go far enough.
The international community, including top US officials, said earlier Tehran had been in compliance with the terms of the deal but Mr Trump despised it, pointing to other aspects of Iranian behaviour not covered in the pact.
