Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the US is exerting economic pressure on Iran in a bid to turn the people against the government but such efforts are futile.
"The enemy's plan is to create gaps and separations between the establishment and the people, and this design reflects their stupidity because they do not know that the Islamic Republic is nothing but the Iranian nation and these two cannot be separated," the Leader said Saturday.
The Leader's remarks, made during a graduation ceremony of new cadets of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) at Imam Hussein University in Tehran, came amid a US push to strangle Iran through the "strongest sanctions in history."
"The purpose of the current economic pressures is to make people fed up, but with divine power, we will increase our bond with the people day by day, and by preserving our coherence, we will strengthen the faithful, motivated and proactive youth," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The US government has announced support for a group of individuals who forced shop owners at Tehran Grand Bazaar to shut down last week, following a dramatic rise in the price of the dollar.
President Donald Trump has been trying to mobilize Persian Gulf Arab states against Iran in a bid to check the country's outstanding role in the region.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the regional coalitions formed by the US against the Islamic Republic show the Iranian nation's power and authority.
"If the US had been able to achieve its objectives alone, it would not have needed to form coalitions with disgraceful and reactionary states," the Leader said.
"Due to the strength and progress of the Islamic Republic of Iran, American enmity has increased and, of course, the hatred of the Iranian nation for the United States has been increasing day by day," he added.