TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing mutual problems is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported.
"The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than that," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff in the capital Tehran.
"The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei was quoted as saying.
The U.S. disagreement with Iran's nuclear and enrichment capability, as well as Iran's regional role is an indication of Washington's enmity with the Islamic republic, he said.
Iran's presence in the region is elemental for Iran's power and security and it is a strategic policy, he stressed.
"I have reiterated that we cannot rely on the American words and even their signature, therefore, negotiations with them are fruitless," he was quoted as saying.
To press Iran to go back to the negotiation table over the internationally-recognized nuclear deal in 2015, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that sanctions on Iran will snap back in August and November.
"The first part of our sanctions will snap back on August 6. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's automotive sector, trade in gold and other key metals," Brian Hook, director of policy planning for the State Department of the United States, said on July 2.
"The remaining sanctions will snap back on Nov. 4. These sanctions will include targeting Iran's energy sector and petroleum-related transactions, and transactions with the Central Bank of Iran," he added.
Following Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear pact on May 8, the United States vowed to re-impose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran.
Washington's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal was criticized across the world. Some of its major European allies have been working to prevent the 2015 deal from falling apart.
