If there was a moment when President Donald Trump’s carefully crafted diplomatic initiative was derailed and Iran’s fate was sealed, it was on June 4, when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected a nuclear deal proposed by the United States.

Khamenei, 86, who has the final word on everything in Iran, called the key demand, that Iran give up enriching uranium, “nonsense” and “100%” against Tehran’s interests.