On 20 September, Washington introduced new economic sanctions against Iran over the Islamic Republic’s alleged attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities, accusations that Tehran has vehemently denied. Despite the incident having been claimed by the Yemen-based Houthis movement, European leaders have also held Iran responsible for the attacks.

Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has slammed the “satanic” US and “hostile” European governments that have aligned against Tehran and thus should not be trusted, Islamic Republic News Agency reports.

"In the Quran, God introduces the way to overcome disbelievers and Satan as relying on Him. Today, too, when one sees that the enemy, Satan, the US government and the vicious European governments have lined up together against Iran, it increases our faith in our rightfulness", said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the seventh congress of the fifth round of the Assembly of Experts on Leadership on 26 September.

The Supreme Leader urged the country's officials to avoid relying on the heads of European states, as some of them have “openly raised the flag of animosity against Iran and the Islamic Republic”. He also argued that despite differing from Washington in terms of capabilities, hostility of some European states towards Iran was similar to the US due to their having a shared mentality.

Khamenei noted that despite attempts by European leaders to act as mediators, they are unlikely to do anything for the Islamic Republic in the future, judging by Europe’s adherence to the US sanctions against Tehran.

"After signing JCPOA, a few European officials visited Iran”, the ayatollah said, referring to the Iran nuclear agreement reached in Vienna in 2015. “They met with me, too. I told them, ‘These visits alone are useless. You should prove your honesty in action’. They didn't act upon it and declared adherence to the US's cruel secondary sanctions. There's no hope in them".

The comments came following Washington’s imposition of a new round of economic sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank and sovereign wealth funds on 20 September, with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arguing that the move is aimed at cutting off “all sources of funds to Iran". The measure was linked to the attack on Saudi Aramco oil facilities, which was blamed by the US and major European powers on Tehran, despite Yemen’s Houthis group taking responsibility for the incident, with Iran repeatedly denying its involvement.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said during a speech at the UN General Assembly that the only way Tehran would enter negotiations with Washington is if it returns to the JCPOA and stops imposing sanctions against the country.

In May 2018, the United States walked out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, and reinstated harsh sanctions on Iran. This was followed by a move by EU states establishing the INSTEX (the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) to ease non-dollar trade with Tehran in an effort to save the JCPOA, and agreeing to contribute $15 billion to the mechanism fund.