Khamenei says Iran won't be deceived by U.S.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday the Islamic state would not be deceived into reconciliation with its arch foe and the United States was a "really arrogant power," state radio reported.

"The American government is a really arrogant power and the Iranian nation will not be deceived with its apparent reconciliatory behavior until America abandons its arrogant attitude," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state radio.

President Barack Obama has said he is ready to deal directly with Iran, something his predecessor largely rejected.

Khamenei has frequently accused the United States of trying to overthrow the clerical establishment.

Washington cut diplomatic ties with Tehran shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution when radical students seized the American embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

Iran will mark seizure of the U.S. embassy on Wednesday.

Tehran and Washington are also at odds over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to build bombs. Tehran says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

(Tehran newsroom)