The United States is Iran&#39;s &#39;number one enemy&#39;&nbsp;and Tehran will never succumb to Washington&#39;s pressure over a multinational nuclear deal, Iran&#39;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Thursday.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump broke ranks with other major powers last month by refusing to formally certify Iran&#39;s compliance with the nuclear deal.

Under that deal, most sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear work.

&quot;The American president&#39;s foolish remarks against our people show the depth of America&#39;s hostility towards the entire Iranian nation,&quot; Iran&#39;s top authority Khamenei told a group of students.&nbsp;

&quot;America is the number one enemy of our nation.&quot;&nbsp;

Since the deal was reached in 2015, Khamenei has continued to denounce the United States publicly, suggesting that antagonism between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran would not abate because of the accord.&nbsp;

Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties shortly after the revolution, when hardline students took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Iran will mark the anniversary of the American embassy seizure on Saturday.&nbsp;

Trump has called the nuclear agreement, which was reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, &#39;the worst deal ever negotiated&#39;&nbsp;and has adopted a harsh approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.&nbsp;

Washington has imposed new sanctions on Iran over its missile activity, calling on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans and its missile programme is solely for defence purposes.

The deal`s other signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, and the European Union say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel an international accord enshrined by a UN&nbsp;resolution.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran would stick to the nuclear accord as long as the other signatories respected it. But it has warned about the consequences if the deal falls apart.&nbsp;

&quot;We will never accept their bullying over the nuclear deal. Americans are using all the wickedness to damage the result of the nuclear talks,&quot; Khamenei said to chants of &#39;Death to America&#39;&nbsp;by students.&nbsp;

&quot;Any retreat by Iran will make America more blatant and impudent. Resistance is the only option.&quot;

Trump also accuses Iran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East. Iran rejects that and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies.&nbsp;

Shi&#39;ite-dominated Iran and its regional arch-rival, US backed Sunni Saudi Arabia, are involved in proxy wars across the region, backing opposite sides in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

U.S. President Donald Trump broke ranks with other major powers last month by refusing to formally certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal.

The United States is Iran's 'number one enemy' and Tehran will never succumb to Washington's pressure over a multinational nuclear deal, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Thursday. US President Donald Trump broke ranks with other major powers last month by refusing to formally certify Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal. Under that deal, most sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear work. "The American president's foolish remarks against our people show the depth of America's hostility towards the entire Iranian nation," Iran's top authority Khamenei told a group of students. "America is the number one enemy of our nation." Since the deal was reached in 2015, Khamenei has continued to denounce the United States publicly, suggesting that antagonism between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran would not abate because of the accord. Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties shortly after the revolution, when hardline students took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Iran will mark the anniversary of the American embassy seizure on Saturday. Trump has called the nuclear agreement, which was reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, 'the worst deal ever negotiated' and has adopted a harsh approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Washington has imposed new sanctions on Iran over its missile activity, calling on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans and its missile programme is solely for defence purposes. The deal`s other signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, and the European Union say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel an international accord enshrined by a UN resolution. Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran would stick to the nuclear accord as long as the other signatories respected it. But it has warned about the consequences if the deal falls apart. "We will never accept their bullying over the nuclear deal. Americans are using all the wickedness to damage the result of the nuclear talks," Khamenei said to chants of 'Death to America' by students. "Any retreat by Iran will make America more blatant and impudent. Resistance is the only option." Trump also accuses Iran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East. Iran rejects that and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies. Shi'ite-dominated Iran and its regional arch-rival, US backed Sunni Saudi Arabia, are involved in proxy wars across the region, backing opposite sides in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.

Supreme Leader Khamenei says US is Iran's 'number one enemy'

Iran&#39;s supreme leader warned today (May 10) that anyone trying to foment unrest around the upcoming presidential election &quot;will definitely be slapped in the face&quot; a sign authorities want to avoid a repetition of the violence that followed the country&#39;s disputed 2009 poll.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei&#39;s comments came as the country&#39;s intelligence minister said his agents already disrupted one plot to cause disruptions.

Windows at a campaign office of President Hassan Rouhani were also broken by vandals.

So far, however, there has been no sign of major problems ahead of the May 19 election.

Khamenei spoke during a graduation ceremony in Tehran for cadets in Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary force. He warned that enemies of Iran seek &quot;to create tension and sedition to disrupt order and security.&quot;

&quot;Those who ignore the country&#39;s security will definitely be slapped in the face,&quot; Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

His comments mirror those of others in the run-up to the election, in which Rouhani faces five opponents. In 2009, former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad&#39;s disputed re- election led to months of unrest and dozens of deaths.

Authorities blocked Ahmadinejad from running in next week&#39;s election.

Khamenei also mentioned a &quot;wealthy American Zionist merchant&quot; trying to interfere in Iran&#39;s 2009 election in his comments, likely referring to liberal billionaire George Soros. In 2008, hard-liners in Iran became increasingly paranoid about Soros and his work promoting democracy in a number of countries, with the Intelligence Ministry going as far as including Soros in a computer-animated public service announcement about its new hotline to report suspicion activity.

Soros&#39; Open Society Foundations, based in New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview aired Tuesday night, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said his agents broke up a plot that would involve gangs of paid youths fighting each other. Alavi also said the ministry detained suspected members of an Iranian opposition exile group, without elaborating.

Candidates must manage their campaigns &quot;in a way that protects national solidarity and integrity while not damaging ethics and values of the society,&quot; Alavi said.

Meanwhile, local news outlets in Tehran reported that windows had been smashed at one of the many campaign offices of Rouhani. They said another office previously had been targeted as well.

Rouhani, whose moderate administration struck the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, is campaigning for another four-year term as Iran&#39;s top elected official. He faces five opponents, chief among them hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of Khamenei.

Raisi has criticized Rouhani, but said he wouldn&#39;t pull out of the nuclear deal.

&quot;There is no evidence that the U.S. And the Western countries are abiding by their commitments,&quot; Raisi told an Iranian-backed news agency in Lebanon in a report released today.&nbsp;

(PTI) 
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His comments mirror those of others in the run-up to the election, in which Rouhani faces five opponents.

Iran's supreme leader warned today (May 10) that anyone trying to foment unrest around the upcoming presidential election "will definitely be slapped in the face" a sign authorities want to avoid a repetition of the violence that followed the country's disputed 2009 poll. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments came as the country's intelligence minister said his agents already disrupted one plot to cause disruptions. Windows at a campaign office of President Hassan Rouhani were also broken by vandals. So far, however, there has been no sign of major problems ahead of the May 19 election. Khamenei spoke during a graduation ceremony in Tehran for cadets in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary force. He warned that enemies of Iran seek "to create tension and sedition to disrupt order and security." "Those who ignore the country's security will definitely be slapped in the face," Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. His comments mirror those of others in the run-up to the election, in which Rouhani faces five opponents. In 2009, former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re- election led to months of unrest and dozens of deaths. Authorities blocked Ahmadinejad from running in next week's election. Khamenei also mentioned a "wealthy American Zionist merchant" trying to interfere in Iran's 2009 election in his comments, likely referring to liberal billionaire George Soros. In 2008, hard-liners in Iran became increasingly paranoid about Soros and his work promoting democracy in a number of countries, with the Intelligence Ministry going as far as including Soros in a computer-animated public service announcement about its new hotline to report suspicion activity. Soros' Open Society Foundations, based in New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview aired Tuesday night, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said his agents broke up a plot that would involve gangs of paid youths fighting each other. Alavi also said the ministry detained suspected members of an Iranian opposition exile group, without elaborating. Candidates must manage their campaigns "in a way that protects national solidarity and integrity while not damaging ethics and values of the society," Alavi said. Meanwhile, local news outlets in Tehran reported that windows had been smashed at one of the many campaign offices of Rouhani. They said another office previously had been targeted as well. Rouhani, whose moderate administration struck the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, is campaigning for another four-year term as Iran's top elected official. He faces five opponents, chief among them hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, a close ally of Khamenei. Raisi has criticized Rouhani, but said he wouldn't pull out of the nuclear deal. "There is no evidence that the U.S. And the Western countries are abiding by their commitments," Raisi told an Iranian-backed news agency in Lebanon in a report released today. (PTI)

Troublemakers in election will be 'slapped', warns Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei

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