Iran’s supreme leader marked Wednesday’s anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy with an affirmation that the slogan “Death to America” is still meaningful.
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Those “Death to America” chants often shouted in Iran?
“The slogan and shouts of “Death to the US” by the Iranian nation has strong logical and rational support and stems from the Constitution and fundamental thoughts that brooks no injustice and oppression”.
Demonstrators in Tehran, the report said, burned U.S. flags and called the United States the “Great Satan”, while chanting “Death to America”.
“In recent years, a few have attempted, either deliberately… or naively, to overlook the (Iranian) nation’s repeated experience (of United States hostility), to portray a whitewashed image of the U.S. and to pretend that if the Americans used to be an enemy of Iran one day, they have now stopped plotting (against Iran)”, the Leader warned. But if the Obama administration continues to put false hope for cooperation with Iran over basic USA interests – such as the safety of American citizens – I fear the death of American leadership in the Middle East.
In his remarks, according to NHK, Salehi stressed the importance of there being “balance” in the implementation of the nuclear accord; a clear reference to Iran’s insistence that economic sanctions which have crippled its economy for years be lifted promptly once Tehran meets its obligations.
Ayatollah was speaking on the occasion that commemorated the 37th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and Lebanese-American Nizar Zakka have been taken hostage by regime operatives.
The infamous slogan has not only embroiled itself into the political culture of the Middle-Eastern country, it became a point of contention when the U.S officials were debating Iran nuclear deal in Washington, D.C., earlier this year. It hasn’t stopped the type of behavior that have made it an worldwide outlier for decades, continuing to detain American-Iranian citizens.
On Wednesday, Hamid Reza Moghaddamfar, an adviser to the powerful head of the Revolutionary Guards, said the crackdown against pro-Western writers and journalists is aimed at fighting US “infiltration that is aimed at overthrowing (Iran’s) system”. The situation devolved into a 444-day hostage crisis and a deterioration in U.S.-Iranian diplomatic relations that persists to this day, according to AFP.
Ayatollah Khamenei and hard-liners in the Iranian government remain deeply suspicious of the United States and view its policies a threat to the country.
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In recent months, he has repeatedly said that the United States is not to be trusted and remains hostile towards Iran.
