Supreme leader says Iranians won't budge over US sanctions

Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that Iranians will not budge or change their stand following new US sanctions targeting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his associates, the latest in a torrent of sharp verbal responses from Tehran in the wake of the measures.

President Donald Trump enacted the new sanctions against Khamenei and others on Monday and US officials also said they plan sanctions against Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The sanctions followed Iran's downing last week of a US surveillance drone, worth over USD 100 million, over the Strait of Hormuz, sharply escalating the crisis.

The top Iranian cleric's website quoted Khamenei as calling the Trump administration "the most sinister" US government, adding that Washington's calls for negotiation with Iran are deceitful and amount to "obvious cruelty."
"The Iranian nation will not budge and will not withdraw because of the insults."
President Hassan Rouhani derided the White House as being "afflicted by mental retardation."
Trump called that a "very ignorant and insulting statement," tweeting that an Iranian attack on any US interest will be met with "great and overwhelming force ... overwhelming will mean obliteration."
His secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the Iranian statement was "immature."