Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Denies that War with the United States is Coming

Tehran (dpa) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out a war with the United States.

"Neither we or the United States want a war, that is why that is not going to happen," Khamenei told Iranian state television Tuesday.

He said Iran had chosen "the path of resistance" and likened negotiations with Washington to "poison."

Khamenei was confident that Iran would come out on top in the end.

"We have the stronger will and the stronger [religious] belief," the ayatollah asserted.

Tensions between Iran and Washington are high. Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said last week that Tehran would begin to withdraw from key aspects of the 2015 international nuclear deal unless major powers swiftly grant promised sanctions relief.

The US has said it has deployed an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, after Tehran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most important shipping lanes connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a surprise visit to Baghdad last week to meet with top officials, indicating he perceived a threat from Iran to US personnel in the country.

Last month, the US declared Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization, in a move that was widely seen as a further deterioration in the situation.