A senior cleric has called on the government not to return to talks with the US after President Donald Trump’s threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure, Al Jazeera reports.

“Officials must not retreat from the legitimate rights of the Islamic nation under the pretext of economic problems, fear of the costs of war or strikes on infrastructure, and they must not continue the path of negotiations and the memorandum with the infidels any further,” Alireza Arafi says in a statement.

Arafi is an influential figure in Iran and a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body tasked with appointing the supreme leader. He also serves as a jurist on the Guardian Council, which vets electoral candidates.