Iran leader rebuffs Trump's warning on missiles
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In his first speech since Trump's inauguration, Iran's supreme leader called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on Feb. 10, the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Trump had tried but failed to frighten Iranians, Khamenei said.
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| Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS |
"We are thankful to (Trump) for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America," Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Tehran, according to his website.
The White House has said the last week's missile test was not a direct breach of Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers, but that it "violates the spirit of that"..
In remarks published on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would not agree to renegotiate its nuclear agreement.
"I believe Trump will push for renegotiation. But Iran and European countries will not accept that," Mohammad Javad Zarif told Ettelaat newspaper. "We will have difficult days ahead."
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to tear up the nuclear deal. While his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, has not called for an outright rejection of the accord, he has suggested a "full review" of it.
The supreme leader, Iran's top authority, also said Trump has "confirmed what we have been saying for more than 30 years about the political, economic, moral and social corruption in the U.S. ruling system."
Trump responded to a Jan. 29 Iranian missile test by saying "Iran is playing with fire" and slapping fresh sanctions on individuals and entities, some of them linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.
"No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei said. "(Trump) says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats."
