“Concerning the economic problems, we do not factor out the Americans’ evil role and their sanctions that are truly criminal,” Ayatollah Khamenei said while addressing a graduation ceremony for cadets of Iran’s Armed Forces via a video call.

The country “will keep up its steadfastness and resistance until turning America’s maximum pressure into maximum disgrace and a source of regret for them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to Press TV.

The “maximum pressure” campaign has been US President Donald Trump’s signature foreign policy tactic toward Iran since his inauguration in 2016.

As part of the high-handed campaign, Trump took the US out of a historic nuclear accord between Iran and others in 2018. He then brought back the sanctions lifted under the deal in another illegal and unilateral move that defied the nuclear accord, also endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.

‘Idle talk of US scoundrels’

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to a recent boast by Trump about Washington’s interference in the Iranian economy, saying: “Only miscreants like you are capable of taking pride in such atrocity.”

However, the US own dire economic situation as witnessed by its thousands of billions of dollars in budget deficit as well as tens of millions of hungry citizens and people living below the poverty line is “very bad” itself, he noted.

The Leader, meanwhile, reminded that although the source of many of the Islamic Republic’s predicaments lies abroad, their remedy lies inside the country and rests upon precise calculations, correct attitude toward national and regional affairs, as well as deployment of tact, endeavor, sagacity, and conviction.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the country’s economic difficulties are solvable through “round-the-clock endeavors by authorities,” “strong, inclusive, and untiring management,” and finally “focus upon domestic production” and refusal to pin hope on foreign assistance.

By God’s grace, through strong devotion, and national conviction, the Iranian nation will nevertheless surmount its problems and parlay sanctions into instruments of strengthening its economy, he said.

Therefore, the racket that is being made by “the scoundrels, who are ruling the American nation” should not preoccupy anyone, the Leader advised.

Ayatollah Khamenei described “defensive power” as well as “cultural capability and solidity” as the pillars that underpin a country’s national power together with “economic strength and stability.”

“Security for the country is a very high and essential value, and a vital element, because without security all of the country’s values would suffer disruption,” he said.

Without the defensive power, a country is left at the mercy of such countries as the United States that are apt to commit “aggression, abuse, interference and encroachment” against other nations, the Leader said.

“You see today what acts of aggression are perpetrated against some countries,” Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.

He said the country’s defensive prowess has not been spared the idle talk of American officials either.

The Leader said the reason they are talking about Iran’s defensive, missile, and regional capabilities is the Islamic Republic’s “precise and rational calculations” as well as the Americans’ own “fear and shortcomings in this area.”

The Leader made the remarks in a statement tweeted in Urdu, English, and Persian on Thursday in condemnation of the brutal killing of more than 40 Muslims during a four-day span of violence that began in New Delhi on February 23, presstv.com reported.

“The govt. of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam,” the tweet went on. The violence saw the Hindu mobsters setting mosques on fire and burning Muslims alive in their homes or dragging them out into the streets and lynching them.

Hundreds more were also injured during the melee.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote a tweet, urging “Indian authorities to ensure the well-being of ALL Indians & not let senseless thuggery prevail,” adding that the “path forward lies in peaceful dialogue and rule of law.”

India summoned the Iranian ambassador to New Delhi afterward to protest the comments. The Indian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Raveesh Kumar said a “strong protest was lodged against the unwarranted remarks,” which he called “not acceptable.”

The violence came following protests by India’s Muslim minority against the Indian government’s approval of a controversial law last December.

The law offers a path to Indian citizenship for six religious groups from three neighboring countries but specifically excludes Muslims. Critics insist the law is discriminatory and comes in the wake of other severe government measures against the country’s Muslim population such as withdrawal of autonomy for Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir province that has intensified discord across India about the future of its 200 million Muslims.

Kumar, however, defended the legislation, saying the government was confident in its legality.

On Tuesday, Iranian people, university students, and seminarists held a protest in front of the Indian Embassy in the capital Tehran to denounce the massacre.

The Iranian demonstrators shouted slogans and held up placards bearing statements in support of the Muslims and condemnation of the slaughter.

Some held up pictures showing the harrowing aftermath of the bloodshed.

The protesters urged international and humanitarian organizations to break their silence on the atrocity, decrying censorship attempts aimed at imposing a media blackout on the violence.

The participants called New Delhi to account for the massacre and asked the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic authorities to contribute to efforts that would prevent such atrocities.