Iran's top leader rejects any talk with U.S.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that Iranian officials unanimously rule out talks with the United States at any level.

A handout picture released by the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him during a meeting in Tehran on September 17, 2019. [Photo: Iranian Supreme Leader's Website/AFP/Stringer]

"Through negotiations, they (the Americans) are seeking to impose their demands on Iran and prove the effectiveness of maximum pressure campaign," Khamenei was quoted as saying by his official website.

Washington's "maximum pressure campaign" against the Iranian nation has failed to achieve its goals, he said.

Talks with the United States will only be possible within the framework of P5+1 group consisting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany if Washington returns to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal that it abandoned last year, he said.

"Otherwise, no talks at any level will be held between Iranian and American officials, neither in New York nor in other places," he stressed.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday also ruled out the likelihood of any meeting between the Iranian and U.S. presidents in the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 under the pretext that the deal was not comprehensive.

Subsequently, the U.S. administration launched a "maximum pressure campaign" and reinstated sanctions on Iran's economy, mainly on Iran's oil exports.