Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Thursday his country is facing a “sensitive time” and economic problems because of the pressure from US sanctions.
Speaking to hundreds of members of the Basij militia and top Revolutionary Guard leaders gathered at Tehran's Azadi stadium, he said: "The situation of the nation, region and world is sensitive, especially for us the people of Iran.”
Khamenei's comments came prior to the date of US President Donald Trump’s second batch of sections against Tehran, expected next November 4.
In May, Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran and he re-imposed sanctions against Tehran.
Khamenei said the US has no other solution to confront Iran except through economic sanctions.
“Other paths in front of it (US) are blocked,” he said, adding that his country must deliver a slap to Washington by defeating those sanctions.
The Iranian rial has lost approximately 75 percent of its value since the beginning of 2018.
“On the one hand, we have the shouting of the arrogant powers and politicians of imperialist America...on the other, we have the economic problems of the nation and the tightness of the livelihood of a large portion of the weak people in the country,” he remarked.
He also warned that media controlled by "foreign enemies" could be as dangerous as “chemical weapons,” and said he would never allow Iran to “kneel and give in to the US.”
“Enemies present distorted images of Iran, of themselves and the region to pretend they are in power, while in fact they are not," he said, claiming that he heard the US president saying to some European leaders to wait two to three months before Iran comes to its end.
“Currently, the enemy is using the media to influence our public opinion,” he warned.
