Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran's decisions will not be affected by elections results in the US and President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, asserting that Washington's policies on Iran have always remained hostile, irrespective of the leadership.

In what many people must have seen as an incredibly naive assessment, President Barack Obama said last August in his speech at American University that 'our best analysts expect the bulk of this revenue to go into spending that improves the economy and benefits the lives of the Iranian people.'

The US, Russia and other entities involved in striking the deal with Iran must realize that to bring about peace in the Middle East, the power of a regime that continues to stoke conflict in the region must be restricted, before it is too late.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was also quoted as saying that Western nations are capitalizing on the conflict between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in order to sway global attention away from the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

While Lebanese banks are complying with US legislation that threatens to sanction international financial institutions that knowingly facilitate Hezbollah’s activities, Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah defiantly confirmed his terror organization is funded directly by Iran.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's top leader, ruled out any formal cooperation with the US against the Islamic State terror group, insisting that it would be a big mistake to trust the US and that it remains a prime enemy of Tehran, despite the controversial nuclear deal.

Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), said Iranian forces will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the United States and its allies if they "threaten" the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday.

Is the Middle East on the path to a full-blown Sunni-Shiite confrontation? In what may be a precursor to a military conflict, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties after Iranians attacked its embassy over the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.

Iran has halted the dismantling of its centrifuges at two uranium enrichment plants, days after conservative lawmakers complained to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the disassembly process was moving too quickly and that he was going against directives from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.