Iran’s Supreme Leader has responded to Donald Trump’s UN address, using a Thursday speech and Twitter to chide that “the American elite should be ashamed of having such a president”.
Trump told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday of a “corrupt dictatorship” in Iran which supported terrorism, detained US citizens, and repressed its people. He stopped short of withdrawing from the July 2015 nuclear deal, but proclaimed it an “embarassment” to the US.
Speaking to the Assembly of Experts, Khamenei replied:
POTUS' derogative & cheap talk is filled with lies & distress, & gangster rhetoric exposing their anger, desperation & ignorance. #UNGA
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) September 21, 2017
The Supreme Leader’s comments followed the more moderate but firm line of President Hassan Rouhani in his Wednesday address at the UN, emphasizing “moderation” in contrast to Trump’s “ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric”.
Rouhani repeated on his return to Tehran on Thursday that the nuclear deal is “not negotiable”, knocking back Trump Administration officials who told US media that they are talking to the other 5+1 Powers (UK, Germany, China, Russia, and France) about a revision of the terms to extend the length and include restriction of Iran’s ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, Khamenei said Trump was lashing out because of American weakness and Iranian strength: “The presence and influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran caused the plots and intentions of the US and the Zionist regime [Israel] to fail in the region, and that is the reason for their anger.”
He maintained the US and Israel “faced defeat in all the three countries” of Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
