This handout photo provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Dec 16, 2020 shows Ayatollah Khamenei (center) attending a meeting with the family of slain Iranian top general Qassem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran. (PHOTO / IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE / AFP)

DUBAI -Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday used his first public appearance in weeks to suggest the United States would remain hostile towards the Islamic Republic even after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Speaking at his first public function since rumors surfaced in early December that his health was deteriorating, Ayatollah Khamenei said Washington could not be trusted - a remark indicating a wary attitude towards President Donald Trump’s successor.

In a meeting with organizers of events to mark the first anniversary of the killing of military commander General Qassem Soleimani in a US attack in Iraq, Ayatollah Khamenei said American antagonism would not disappear with the end of the Trump administration.

My firm recommendation is not to trust the enemy.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader

“My firm recommendation is not to trust the enemy,” the Ayatollah said in remarks carried by state TV.

“The hostility (against Iran) is not just from Trump’s America, which supposedly some could say would end when he leaves, as (President Barack) Obama’s America also did bad things to ...the Iranian nation.”

Biden was Obama’s vice-president.

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Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in 2018 and imposed new sanctions. Biden’s coming to power has raised the possibility that Washington could rejoin the agreement.

Some hardline Iranian officials and lawmakers close to Ayatollah Khamenei have questioned President Hassan Rouhani’s stand that a revival of the deal may lead to a lifting of sanctions. But the Ayatollah said he was not opposed to government efforts towards that end.

“If the sanctions can be lifted, we should not delay even one hour...If the sanctions can be lifted in the right, wise... and dignified way, this must be done,” he said, addressing government officials.

Earlier, President Hassan Rouhani said he was happy Trump was leaving office, calling him “the most lawless US president” and a “murderer” for hampering Iran’s access to COVID-19 vaccines.

“We are not overjoyed about Mr. Biden’s arrival, but we are happy about Trump leaving … that such a terrorist and murderer, who does not even have mercy for coronavirus vaccines, will be gone,” Rouhani said in a televised speech to the cabinet.

Sanctions

Iran said US sanctions are making it difficult for Iran to purchase medicine and health supplies from abroad, including COVID-19 vaccines needed to contain the worst outbreak in the Middle East.

The Trump administration has imposed crippling sanctions on Iran’s banking sector and its vital oil and gas industry since unilaterally withdrawing from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.

TV footage showed Ayatollah Khamenei wearing a mask during Wednesday’s meeting and sitting at the head of a large room with several attendees seated to either side, in accordance with COVID-19 social distancing protocols

While Washington said that medicines and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions, the restrictions on trade and financial activities have deterred some foreign banks from processing financial transactions involving Iran.

TV footage showed Ayatollah Khamenei wearing a mask during Wednesday’s meeting and sitting at the head of a large room with several attendees seated to either side, in accordance with COVID-19 social distancing protocols.

The meeting followed rumors on social media earlier this month that the 81-year-old’s health was deteriorating.

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Ayatollah Khamenei has served as supreme leader since 1989, with the final say on all state matters. His health has been the subject of speculation for years.