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Khamenei: Trump Will Betray Iranians 01/17 06:29
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's supreme leader said President Donald Trump is a
"clown" who only pretends to support the Iranian people but will "push a
poisonous dagger" into their backs, as he struck a defiant tone in his first
Friday sermon in Tehran in eight years.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the mass funerals for Iran's top general, who
was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, show that the Iranian people
support the Islamic Republic despite its recent trials. He said the "cowardly"
killing of Soleimani had taken out the most effective commander in the battle
against the Islamic State group.
In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting U.S.
troops in Iraq, without causing serious injuries. Khamenei said the strike had
dealt a "blow to America's image" as a superpower. In part of the sermon
delivered in Arabic, he said the "real punishment" would be in forcing the U.S.
to withdraw from the Middle East.
As Iran's Revolutionary Guard braced for an American counterattack that
never came, it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian jetliner shortly after it took
off from Tehran's international airport, killing all 176 passengers on board,
mostly Iranians.
Authorities concealed their role in the tragedy for three days, initially
blaming the crash on a technical problem. Their admission of responsibility
triggered days of street protests, which security forces dispersed with live
ammunition and tear gas.
Khamenei called the shootdown of the plane a "bitter accident" that saddened
Iran as much as it made its enemies happy. He said Iran's enemies had seized on
the crash to question the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard and the
armed forces.
He also lashed out at Western countries, saying they are too weak to "bring
Iranians to their knees." He said Britain, France and Germany, which this week
triggered a dispute mechanism to try and bring Iran back into compliance with
the unraveling 2015 nuclear agreement, were "contemptible" governments and
"servants" of the United States.
He said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the United States.
Khamenei has held the country's top office since 1989 and has the final say
on all major decisions. The 80-year-old leader openly wept at the funeral of
Soleimani and vowed "harsh retaliation" against the United States.
Thousands of people attended the Friday prayers, occasionally interrupting
his speech by chanting "God is greatest!" and "Death to America!"
Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily escalated since
President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with
world powers, which had imposed restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange
for the lifting of international sanctions.
The U.S. has since imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, including its vital
oil and gas industry, pushing the country into an economic crisis that has
ignited several waves of sporadic, leaderless protests. Trump has openly
encouraged the protesters --- even tweeting in Farsi --- hoping that the
protests and the sanctions will bring about fundamental change in a longtime
adversary.
After Soleimani was killed, Iran announced it would no longer be bound by
the limitations in the nuclear agreement. European countries who have been
trying to salvage the deal responded earlier this week by invoking a dispute
mechanism that could result in even more sanctions.
Khamenei was always skeptical of the nuclear agreement, arguing that the
United States could not be trusted. But he allowed President Hassan Rouhani, a
relative moderate, to conclude the agreement with President Barack Obama. Since
Trump's withdrawal, he has repeatedly said there can be no negotiations with
the United States.
Khamenei last delivered a Friday sermon in February 2012, when he called
Israel a "cancerous tumor" and vowed to support anyone confronting it. He also
warned against any U.S. strikes on Iran over its nuclear program, saying the
U.S. would be damaged "10 times over."
(KR)
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