The “aim of the slogan is not death to American people”, he said.
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So far, the nuclear deal seems secure in both countries despite Iran’s rhetoric and the recent arrests.
In his letter addressing Rouhani, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei demanded that Western countries issue firm guarantees and provide proof that all economic sanctions will be removed once Iran complied with the terms of the nuclear agreement.
“The slogan “death to America” is backed by reason and wisdom, and it goes without saying that the slogan does not mean death to the American nation”.
But this anniversary was infused with a sense of greater urgency for both sides. The nuclear deal hasn’t “fundamentally changed anything in the relationship between Iran and the U.S”. The crackdown and the increasingly hostile comments are intended entirely for Iran’s domestic audience and to ensure Khamenei’s power, said Sara Bazoobandi, a lecturer at Regent’s University London and an associate at Chatham House. “If he sends conflicting messages, so be it…”
Ties with the US have also been strained by this year’s trial of Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, a dual U.S.-Iranian national, on spying charges.
Yes, the slogan is not directed toward the people of the US, it refers to the Western country’s policies.
There are also reports that Iran has begun engaging in a cyber-offensive against the United States, with its Revolutionary Guard aggressively targeting US officials and attempting to steal their personal information. It named the man as Nizar Zakka, an IT expert who Lebanese media reported last week had disappeared on September 18 after attending a conference in Tehran. Zakka’s family denies he has links to the US military.
Four Iranian-Americans are being held in Iran.
In what appeared to be a warning to opponents, President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday criticised recent arrests carried out in the name of the fight against “infiltration”.
Because of this, Khamenei recently called for Iranian businesses and citizens to avoid the import or purchase of any American consumer goods, for fear that they would contribute to social harm and degradation of the fundamentalist values of the Islamic Republic.
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Nisrene Yousif, a Beirut-based political analyst and researcher, attributed the sharpening tensions to “internal political competition” before parliamentary elections in February. A few critics have expressed anger at multiple pictures depicting young Iranian children, with one activist group, United Against Nuclear Iran, describing it as a “disgusting exploitation of children”. Opponents of the deal in Iran are deeply suspicious of the United States and its allies.
