"European countries come and say they want to negotiate with Iran about its presence in the region. What is your business? Why are you here? It is our region ... Should we negotiate our presence in the region with the governments of the region or with you [US]? We'll talk to you when we want to be in the United States," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said as quoted on his official website.
He noted that the United States regularly expressed dissatisfaction with the presence of Iran in the Middle East despite "US corrupt and seditious presence everywhere."
On Wednesday, a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement that the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia agreed on Wednesday to take joint efforts to counter "destabilizing activities" of Iran in the Middle Eastern region.
In February, US President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed ways to counter the destabilizing activities of Iran.
READ MORE: US Nuclear Posture Review 'Misleading,' Based on Biased Facts - Washington Post
The president's sharp line towards Iran was reflected in the US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), released on February 2, 2018, specifying that the Islamic Republic's policy in the Middle East views US authority in the region as a threat to its goal to become the dominant regional power.
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According to the document, Iran continues to fund the largest missile program in the Middle East and could, in the future, threaten or deliver weapons, developing increasingly long-range ballistic missile capabilities, and pursuing its alleged "aggressive efforts" to undermine neighboring governments, casting doubt on its "long-term commitment to foregoing nuclear weapons capability."
