ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected the idea of engaging in negotiations with the United States on the nuclear issue, calling Washington’s proposal for talks “a deception of public opinion.”

In an interview with Fox Business Network last week, US President Donald Trump said that he has written a letter to the Iranian leadership, pressing them for talks over the nuclear issue, warning that the other alternative would be military action.

Speaking to a group of students in Tehran on Wednesday, Khamenei said that he does not see a point in negotiating with the current American administration since they will not remove the sanctions imposed on Tehran.

“If the goal of negotiation is to lift sanctions, negotiations with this American administration will not lift the sanctions. They will not remove them. They will tighten the knot of the sanctions and increase the pressure. Negotiating with this administration will only increase the pressure,” said the Iranian supreme leader.

In February, Trump signed a memorandum restoring his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran and detailing a series of new economic measures against the Islamic republic.

Iran has been struggling with a crumbling economy for years, as the country suffers international sanctions, rapid inflation, high consumer prices, and a falling currency.

Khamenei said that although the sanctions have impacted the country, the main reason for the country’s economic hardship is their own “negligence,” claiming that “sanctions are gradually becoming ineffective.”

During his first term in 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal – an agreement between Tehran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Subsequent attempts at reviving the deal have failed to yield results.

“We sat for several years and negotiated. That very person tore up the completed, finalized, and signed agreement and threw it off the table,” Khamenei said on Wednesday.

“When we know they do not act on their commitments, why should we negotiate?”

In regard to Trump’s threats of military action, Khamenei said that Tehran is not seeking war but is capable of retaliating and would have a “decisive” response if any action is taken.

Iran’s arch rivals – the US and Israel – have repeatedly threatened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, despite Tehran maintaining that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.

“Regarding nuclear weapons, they say: ‘We will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.’ If we wanted to build a nuclear weapon, America could not stop us,” said Khamenei.