Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei denounced the United States for attempts to prevent Tehran from reaping the full economic benefits of the nuclear deal by "scaring" overseas businesses away from Iran.
The Leader ruled out the possibility of the resumption of Iran-US ties after the July 2015 accord with major powers, including the US, went into effect in January to give Tehran sanctions relief in return for temporary curbs on its nuclear program.
"The US creates obstacles using deception and then blames us for being too cynical," Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying by IRNA in a meeting with workers in Tehran on Wednesday, days ahead of the International Workers' Day on May 1.
Fears of falling foul of the remaining US sanctions that bar foreign banks from processing dollar-based transactions involving Iranian businesses by using the US financial system have kept them wary of conducting deals with Iranians.
"An American official has recently said the bulk of sanctions has been retained to scare off foreign investors from the Iranian market," the Leader said.
"On paper, they claim foreign banks are authorized to deal with Iran. In practice, however, they are promoting Iranophobia to deter them."
The Leader noted that domestic production should be treated as "sacred" and the import of foreign goods that have Iranian counterparts must be banned.
"The sale and consumption of foreign products should be regarded as contrary to [national] values unless they are not produced locally," he said.
Ayatollah Khamenei called for a large turnout in the parliamentary runoffs on Friday like that of the first round on February 26.
"Elections, in some cities, are a couple of days away. They are important, so do vote. The runoffs are no less important than the first-round votes," he said.
In the second round, 136 candidates will vie for 68 undecided seats in the 290-member parliament, as candidates in 55 constituencies failed to garner the minimum 25% of the votes.
