Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the US-devised roadmap for the Middle East conflict known as the "deal of the century" will lead nowhere, slamming Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as ground makers of "such an evil plot."

Khamenei made the comments as part of his Eid al-Fitr sermon delivered to worshippers in the capital city of Tehran. He said the deal will never succeed, and he expressed gratitude toward Arab countries and Palestinian factions for standing up to it. The Iranian leader also touched upon a planned economic conference in Bahrain set to be focused on the same deal. He advised Bahraini and Saudi officials to beware that they were stepping in a "quagmire" by pushing for the US plan and asserted that the Saudis still had a chance to "repent" and "correct" their approach.

A few hours later, Khamenei told ambassadors of Muslim countries in Tehran that Palestine was the most pressing issue of the Islamic world and Palestinians will be the ultimate winners of the battle against Israel. The two speeches came less than a day after the supreme leader attacked some Arab leaders for "betraying" the Palestinian cause and serving as "followers" of the United States.

In that address, which marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — the founder of the Islamic Republic — Khamenei once again ruled out negotiations with the United States. He was reacting to an apparent shift of tone by US President Donald Trump, who insisted that Washington was not seeking to topple the regime in Tehran. "This is a political ploy … which Iranian officials and people will not be duped into," Khamenei said. He warned the United States to stay away from Iran because "wherever [the United States] stepped in, they brought along wars, fratricide or sedition. …"