Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the United States during his Nowruz speech in northern Tehran on March 21 that threats against the country would prove futile, stressing that any malicious acts would face severe retaliation, his official website announced.

Khamenei's speech comes as Iran's economy comes under significant pressure, with the rial (IRR) hovering around IRR1mn to the dollar and fresh sanctions and focus from the Trump administration, which recently reinstated its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign. The Supreme Leader's comments came days after the country's oil minister was the latest target of the American administration, and a recently delivered letter from Trump to Khamenei gave the regime in Tehran two months to decide if they wanted to negotiate with the White House. 

In his address at Imam Khomeini Hussainiya in northern Tehran, where the first Supreme Leader after the 1979 revolution would give his speeches, he directly challenged American policy towards Iran, stating, "Americans should know they will never achieve anything by threatening the Iranian nation."

Khamenei specifically targeted the West’s characterisations of regional resistance groups, calling it "a big mistake" for American and European politicians to label these organisations as "Iranian proxies."

"The Yemeni people have their own motivation; resistance centres in the region have their own motivation. The Islamic Republic doesn't need proxies," Khamenei said, rejecting the notion that Iran controls these groups.

Khamenei's comments come as Trump repeatedly blamed Iran directly for missiles fired at Israel from Houthis in Yemen, who have de facto control of the majority of the country. 

The Supreme Leader further warned that while Iran never initiates conflicts, "anyone who commits malicious acts against the Iranian nation should know they will face harsh consequences."

The speech, which traditionally marks the Persian New Year, took place in Tehran rather than at the shrine of Imam Reza due to the coincidence of the Persian year 1404 with the holy month of Ramadan, but also could potentially be due to the leader's failure health after years of problems. 

Khamenei also addressed domestic issues, stressing the importance of investment in production rather than speculative markets like currency, gold coins, and land, which he identified as key to improving Iran's economic situation.

A day earlier Khamenei said that the new Persian year

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has designated the new Persian year 1404 as the "Year of Investment for Production" in his annual Nowruz message, his website announced on March 20.

Khamenei's message immediately followed that of President Masoud Pezeshkian, who promised he would attempt to fix the downward spiral of the Iranian economy in recent months.