Iran's supreme leader  on Thursday strongly rejected proposals for direct talks with the United States, effectively quashing suggestions for a breakthrough one-on-one dialogue on the nuclear standoff.

The statement of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came out just one day after US President Barack Obama’s administration  expanded its sanctions against Iran,  aiming to tighten the squeeze on Tehran's ability to spend its oil cash. Speaking at a meeting with Iranian military leaders, Khamenei said that the US’s recent proposal for a nuclear talk is nothing new, and what the US wants to do is to widen its sanctions against Iran. Sanctions against Iran can’t go together with nuclear talks and Iran does not accept this proposal.