Hawzah News Agency (Qum, Iran) - Speaking during his jurisprudence class at Qom's Grand Mosque, Ayatollah Hossain Nouri-Hamadani reacted to the withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said, "For forty years now, the United States has been lying and conspiring to advance its plans and it does not have any credibility."

The revered source of emulation added, "The United States today is the same United States which first entered the war path and has carried out every possible conspiracy against the Islamic Republic of Iran, one of which is sanctions. From the outset, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Khamenei] has insisted that we cannot negotiate with the United States and sign an agreement, but some people insisted on this."

He argued that in his comments last night, Trump revealed the legitimacy of the wise statements of the Supreme Leader to everyone and stated, "We cannot conclude an agreement with the United States because they will never adhere to it."

Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani emphasized that Iranian officials must not be deceived by European countries and noted, "It was said that the United States had left the JCPOA but France, the United Kingdom and Germany said they are present. We must not be deceived by them because from the beginning, they have always been with the United States."

The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom said, "We must be vigilant so that the plots of these European countries do not harm the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those countries say Iran must negotiate with them on missiles and military capabilities. We must not be optimistic about these countries." 

He noted that Iran, with its emphasis on resistance, must continue to pursue peaceful nuclear activities with power and added, "This is the best response to the insolence of the arrogant powers, especially the United States. All people and officials must act on the axis of Wilayat al-Faqih [Guardianship of the Jurisprudent], the thought and the will of the Supreme Leader."

In other remarks, Ayatollah Nouri-Hamadani said that the Islamic Revolution had made the duties of the clergy heavier, saying, "Before, the work of the Islamic Seminary was studying and discussions but now we live in a time when the enemies of Islam are hostile towards our values, the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Seminary. They have come to the battlefield with all their power and the Islamic Seminary cannot suffice with only lessons and discussions."

The Iranian cleric added, "The enemies have formed many think-tanks to harm the Islamic system because they consider the Islamic Revolution to be an obstacle to their evil ambitions and the scholars cannot remain silent at this time and only engage in lessons and discussions but rather God has taken a pledge from the scholars must not remain calm in the face of oppression." 

He said, "Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq said that the Shia scholars are frontiers of the people's beliefs and on the other side, there are devils present. Shia scholars do not allow the devils to harm the Shias. We are obliged to be aware and awake and to protect our friends from the influence of the enemies.'