Iran's supreme leader says experience shows 'trusting West does not work'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that the outgoing government's experience of engaging with world powers including the United States shows that "trusting the West does not work".

"Future generations should use this experience. It was made clear during this government that trusting the West does not work," Khamenei told outgoing President Hassan Rouhani and cabinet members, his official website reported.

Earlier, the American authorities seized a range of Iran’s state-linked news website domains they accused of spreading disinformation, the US Justice Department said, a move that appeared to be a far-reaching crackdown on Iranian media amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

The takedowns come as world powers scramble to resurrect Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal and just days before Rouhani will hand over the presidency to hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi on August 5.

Like Khamenei, Raisi has backed indirect talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at bringing back the arch-foes into full compliance with the accord. Trump quit the deal three years ago, saying it was biased in favour of Iran, and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran.

The sixth round of nuclear talks in Vienna adjourned on June 20. The next round of the talks has yet to be scheduled, and Iranian and Western officials have said that significant gaps still remain to be resolved.

Relations between Iran and the US have deteriorated for years following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from Tehran’s nuclear deal and the return of devastating sanctions on the country. That decision has seen Iran, over time, gradually abandon every limit on uranium enrichment.

The country is now enriching uranium to 60 per cent, its highest level ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels.

Iran provides support to militant groups in the region, such as Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as it seeks to wield its influence far afield and counter its foes.

Trump blacklisted dozens of institutions vital to Iran's economy using laws designed to punish foreign actors for supporting terrorism or weapons proliferation.

Removing oil and financial sanctions is essential if Iran is to export its oil, the top prize for Tehran for complying with the nuclear agreement and reining in its atomic program.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the president, has the last say on all state matters such as nuclear policy.

(With inputs from agencies)