Khamenei Says Iran Weathering U.S. 'Troublemaking'

Iran's supreme leader said Wednesday that years of "troublemaking" by arch-foe the United States had not broken the Islamic republic, which must face head-on its challenges at home and abroad.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not refer to ongoing nuclear talks with a group of world powers that includes the U.S. whose leaders repeatedly say all options, including military action, remain on the table if diplomacy fails to curb Iran's nuclear drive.

"We should understand the obstacles on the path taken by Imam" Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who founded the Islamic republic, Khamenei said at the 25th anniversary of his predecessor's death.

"The external challenge before Iran is the troublemaking of the global arrogance -- frankly speaking, that of the United States," he added in remarks broadcast live on state television from Khomeini's shrine, south of Tehran.

Iran and the U.S. have had no diplomatic ties for more than three decades, but hopes of a thaw in relations were raised in November after Tehran and world powers signed an interim nuclear deal that it is hoped can be transformed into a lasting accord in further talks.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama had also spoken by telephone months earlier in what was seen as a major gesture of willingness toward future dialogue.

Khamenei, who sets the direction Iran takes, made no mention of a rapprochement, warning officials of what he called American efforts to "sow discord among leaderships" and foment coup d'etats and "colour revolutions".

But Khamenei argued foreign intervention seemed unlikely, saying new military invasions "are not a priority for the United States" after suffering losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iran's domestic challenges include "shifting focus away from the real enemy and on to (internal) disputes and losing national unity."

He did not elaborate but Iran's fragmented political factions have clashed in recent months over the course of nuclear negotiations, led by Rouhani who favours detente with the West and solving the decade-long nuclear standoff.

The negotiations will resume in mid-June, with Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany, meeting in Vienna.

They seek a comprehensive agreement against the July 20 deadline that would curb Iran's nuclear activities and increase international monitoring in exchange for the lifting of painful sanctions.

Western powers suspect Iran is masking a military drive in its nuclear work, while Tehran denies ever seeking atomic weapons.