Tehran

The US hit out at Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he said in a tweet that "Western powers are a mafia. At the top of this mafia stand the prominent Zionist merchants, the US is their showcase, and they’re spread out everywhere."

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US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt denounced the Iran leader calling it "unacceptable rhetoric". Lipstadt added that it was "dangerous" since it came from a head of state while asserting that "it must cease".

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Khamenei's comments come amid stalled talks with the US and its allies on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal and deteriorating relations with Israel.

Iran said it won't be subjected to "psychological pressure and unilateral expectations" in entering into the deal. Former US president Donald Trump had walked out of the deal in 2018 and imposed harsh economic sanctions against Iran.

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Although talks have been continuing since April last year on reviving the deal but little progress has been made this year with deadlock on several issues.

Watch: Iran to export drones to 'friendly countries'

Qatar has hosted indirect talks last month between the United States and Iran to get the Vienna process back on track, however, discussions broke down in a few days with no breakthrough achieved.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price asserted that Iran hasn't made the "political decision" to return to nuclear compliance. US President Joe Biden during his visit to Jerusalem earlier this month had said his administration won't wait indefinitely for Iran to respond to terms set by Washington to revive the nuclear deal.

(With inputs from Agencies) 

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