Tasnim � Secretary of Iran�s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani hit back at the US secretary of state for his comments on dealing with the Islamic Republic with strength, advising the US officials to concede defeat in the face of Iran and abandon their �stupid and hollow boasts

In a post on his Twitter account on Saturday, Shamkhani played down the recent comments from US State Secretary Mike Pompeo.

�Pompeo has said �we have fundamentally changed our behavior towards Iran because only strength works in dealing with them, not appeasement.� You (Americans) have employed all of your power for over 40 years to defeat Iran, but are still unsuccessful,� he said.

�Conceding defeat in the face of powerful Iran is better than stupid and baseless boasts,� Shamkhani said in response to Pompeo�s remarks.

In a speech at Ron Pearson Center in Iowa on Friday, Pompeo said the countries like Iran �only respond to strength, not to appeasement.�

�Look, we�ve also fundamentally changed the way America treats the Islamic Republic of Iran,� he said.

�So we flipped what the previous administration was doing. We ditched the (2015 nuclear) deal and implemented a brand new Iran policy,� Pompeo added.