Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has lashed out at Washington, claiming that the US government "spends a tremendous amount of money on sowing discord among people" and vowed to "disappoint" the country he dubbed the "main enemy" of Tehran "on all arenas."
"Any hopes on their part that the Islamic Republic would back off or weaken is futile," Khamenei stated.
He has also recalled the Washington-Tehran tensions in 1988, when a US warship shot down an Iranian passenger plane over the Persian Gulf, a deadly "mistake" as Washington explained it that had killed all 290 people on board.
According to the Ayatollah, the US president's stance on Tehran would fail as "Reagan was both wiser and more powerful than Trump. They took measures against Iran: they shot down one of our passenger aircrafts. But where is Reagan, and how powerful is the Islamic Republic now?"
Iran's supreme leader has also accused the US government of supporting the Daesh terrorist group and spoke about the controversial decision taken by Trump to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel which has prompted wide condemnation among the international community.
Our main enemy—the U.S. regime—leads the most corrupt and oppressive govt. According to news we’ve received, they’re still supporting ISIS and the like. They support the Saudi tyrannical ruling family in their crimes against #Yemen, & support Zionist atrocities in #Palestine.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) 27 декабря 2017 г.
According to Khamenei, the decision was made "out of despair and debility," adding that "their hands are tied and they can't achieve their goals" with regard to Palestine.
It is out of despair & debility that they want to declare #AlQuds as capital of the Zionist regime. On issue of #Palestine their hands are tied & they can't achieve their goals. Victory belongs to Islamic Ummah. Palestine will be free, Palestinian nation will achieve victory.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) 6 декабря 2017 г.
The statement has been followed by the Iranian parliament's vote to declare Jerusalem as the "everlasting capital of Palestine."
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The vote "comes in response to the recent US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in hopes of dealing a blow to Muslims," parliament speaker Ali Larijani was quoted by the Anadolu news agency as saying.