Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran won't go to war nor open up its doors for negotiations with the United States as Washington's renewed sanctions on the country's economy take effect on Monday.
Khamenei, who holds the ultimate authority in making decisions in the Islamic Republic, said that President Donald Trump's unwarranted withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) in May is stark evidence that America, under his administration, cannot be trusted with its promises.
In a statement released by a state-run television and cited over at CNN, the leader blatantly said that any negotiations are done with the US "would definitely harm" the country and therefore, he is banning all possibilities that it will occur.
"Negotiation with the bullying and very eager government of the U.S. means giving it an instrument through which it can add to its hostility," the 79-year-old went on to say.
The White House has made it clear that the only way for Iran to avoid the sanctions would be for its leaders to accept Trump's deal which puts further restrictions on the earlier nuclear deal made in 2015.
Otherwise, the US will continue to take punitive measures on Iran's economy. In fact, it will come in two waves, with the first already taking effect this month while the second is slated to hit by November.
Speculations that there'll be armed altercations to follow these events are already circulating, however, the former Iranian president maintains that the Persian Gulf state won't let itself be found in such situation.
"They (the Americans) are exaggerating the possibility of a war with Iran. There will be no war... We have never started a war and they will not confront Iran militarily," Khamenei said.
Aside from pointing out America's animosity towards Iran, the Islamic cleric also castigates his own government for causing a lot of trouble on the Iranian people.
In his statement, Khamenei commented on the "economic mismanagement" by the Hassan Rouhani administration wherein its citizens are suffering the consequences.
Khamenei is one of the proponents who championed the JCPA.
The deal, which was signed by the UN along with the US, delimits Iran's nuclear program as well as restricts its armed activities in the Persian Gulf. In exchange, the pact saw the lifting of the international sanctions, officially ending the Islamic country's political and economic isolation from the global stage.
Trump, meanwhile, went to his social media to announce that the first phase of sanctions is now taking its full effect.
