Ayatollah Forbids Negotiating With U.S

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader is standing firm against reimposed US sanctions, saying Monday there would be "no war, nor will we negotiate with the United States."

"Beside sanctions, they [the US] talk about war and negotiations," Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said in a speech here on Monday.

"They talk about a spirit of war to frighten the cowards," said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that US played a "poor game" when it came to negotiations.

The 2015 Obama-era deal, agreed by the US, Iran, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia, restricted Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of decades long international sanctions.

Trump pulled the US out of the UN sanctioned nuclear agreement in May, and said that he plans to reinstate US sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic. 

Slamming Washington over its withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Khamenei said: "Why should we sit for negotiations with a bullying (and) cheating regime, which negotiates like this?"

Ayatollah Khamenei stated, "We can only embark on the dangerous game of negotiating with America after we reach the economic and political and cultural power that we have in mind so that its pressures and ballyhoo would not be able to affect us. However, at the present time, negotiations [with the United States] will be certainly to our detriment and is forbidden."

Domestic Mismanagement

The Iranian leader also discussed the present Iranian economic crisis which has seen its currency, the Rial, lose more than half of its value against the US dollar since April and the price of gold (coin) more than double in recent weeks.

Supreme leader attributed the Iranian economic crisis to internal factors such as poor government management, rather than to the US sanctions, saying that while the sanctions can play a part, the "domestic factors are stronger role players".

"Scholars and many officials believe that the problem is internal. The problem of gold coin and foreign currency unfolded due to negligence and mismanagement," he said.

"If actions are taken more efficiently, more prudently, more swiftly and more firmly, sanctions cannot have much effect and they can be resisted," Ayatollah added.

Last week's reimposed sanctions affect, among other things, the purchase or acquisition of US dollars by the Iranian government, the country's auto industry and trade in gold or precious metals.

Another phase of US sanctions will be reimposed in November and will target Iran's crucial oil industry.

European partners stand by deal

European partners have stood by the deal, implementing measures to protect EU companies doing businesses in Iran, even as Trump warned in tweet they faced the fallout of US sanctions.

"Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States," Trump tweeted Tuesday.

Some companies have already heeded that warning. Last week German carmaker Daimler announced it had suspended its activities in Iran "until further notice according to applicable sanctions."