Removal of anti-Iran sanctions should be part of any possible nuclear deal between Iran and western countries, said Iranian top leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Anti-Iran sanctions should be discussed as a part of nuclear negotiations and should not be considered a result of those talks, state-run news agency IRNA cited Khamenei as saying in an address on Sunday to the nation on the occasion of Nowruz or the Persian new year.

“America says ‘we sign the agreement and monitor Iran’s behaviour and then remove the sanctions’. This is erroneous and unacceptable and Iran will never accept this. This is the Americans’ ploy. Removal of sanctions should be part of any agreement,” he said.

Khamenei emphasized Iran’s nuclear industry is indigenous, belongs to people, and should progress.

The US government is in dire need of nuclear talks, and apparent differences in US does not mean that the American statesmen do not need nuclear negotiations, he said.

He said US President Barack Obama’s Nowruz message included “dishonest assertions and his claim of friendship for Iranian people was not sincere”, he said, adding Obama’s claim that there are people in Iran who do not want nuclear case to be resolved through diplomacy is a lie.

What the Iranian nation is resisting against is the bullying approach of the US, Khamenei asserted.

He also emphasised that negotiations with the US are just about the nuclear issue and do not cover regional issues or issues related to Iran’s internal affairs.