Top Iranian cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani lashed out at President Trump’s decision to decertify the nuclear deal with the country Friday, saying Washington’s actions “revealed the true image of America across the world.”
Characterizing Mr. Trump’s decision to pull back from the landmark Obama-era nuclear deal as “ridiculous,” the ayatollah said the move was just another example of U.S.-led efforts to bring Tehran under the heel of the West.
“The U.S. has always tried to bring the Islamic Republic to its knees throughout the history and the Iranian nation would never forget their animosity,” he said during a speech Friday in Tehran, state-run media outlet Fars news reported.
A key figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the powerful Iranian militia singled out for new sanctions by Mr. Trump Friday, sounded a defiant note.
“We are not war-mongering country, but any military action against Iran will be regretted,” Esmail Ghaani, deputy head of the Quds Force, an overseas arm of the IRGC, said, Reuters reported, citing the Tasmin news agency, adding, “We have buried many … like Trump and know how to fight against America.”
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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