Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Monday the heightened US rhetoric against Iran is driven by anger over its domestic and international failures, while calling for caution in dealings with both America and Europe.
“We do not want to deceive ourselves or underestimate the enemy, but the ground realities indicate that the enemy is grappling with various domestic and foreign issues,” the Leader said in a meeting with people from East Azarbaijan Province in Tehran, his website reported.
He noted that the United States is racked by both internal political conflicts and foreign policy failures in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and is venting its anger on Iran.
“They [the Americans] are extremely angry,” the Leader said, singling out the recent Iran-focused summit in Warsaw as a desperate attempt prompted by resentment.
“The unwise American politicians invited their allies and some other weak and scared governments to the Warsaw summit to take a decision against Iran, but the conference produced no results,” he said in reference to an international meeting that the US and Poland jointly hosted on Feb. 13-14.
“All this is a sign of weakness. When a desperate enemy gets livid, it resorts to rhetoric and abuse.”
US Isolation
The hastily organized summit in the Polish capital was billed as a Middle East security conference. But the gathering was really about getting the world on board with America’s tough-on-Iran policy, even though the US denied that was the case.
Some political experts say the conference, which was intended to isolate Tehran, ended up isolating Washington instead.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the commotion against Iran should not dishearten people and officials, as the enemy will never be able to achieve its ill-intentioned objectives thanks to the country’s clout and strength.
He also urged authorities to be on guard against the West’s conspiracies as “their heart is full of enmity toward the Islamic Republic”.
“The Americans’ animosity toward Iran is obvious and they make no secret of it, but we should be careful about the Europeans because they are deceitful too,” the Leader said.
“Do not fall for their tricks … even when they are showing their teeth or smiling.”
European powers have taken a series of measures to save the Iran nuclear deal after the US exit, but also stepped up criticism of Iran’s ballistic missile program and its regional policies in a dual-track approach.
