Iranian leader lashes out at Trump
TEHRAN, IRAN •Iran’ssupreme leader chastised U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday over his decision to pull America out of the 2015 nuclear deal, while lawmakers lit a paper U.S. flag on fire inside parliament, shouting, “Death to America!”
The government backlash reflected broad public anger in Iran over Trump’s decision, which threatens to destroy the landmark agreement. While Iranian officials, including the parliament speaker, say they hope Europe will work with them to preserve the deal, many are pessimistic.
In comments before school teachers, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Trump: “You cannot do a damn thing!” The exhortation from Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, follows a pattern of Iranian leaders declaring their nation’s ability to resist foreign pressure or interference.
Khamenei described Trump’s speech Tuesday announcing his decision as having “over 10 lies,” without elaborating on them. He also said Trump’s remarks threatened both Iran’s people and its theocratic government.
“The body of this man, Trump, will turn to ashes and become the food of the worms and ants, while the Islamic Republic continues to stand,” Khamenei said.
Earlier Wednesday, the lawmakers, including a Shiite cleric, held the flaming flag alight as their colleagues joined their chants. They also burned a piece of paper representing the nuclear deal and stomped on the papers’ ashes.
While U.S. flag-burning is common in Iran and harsh criticism of America has been a staple of Iranian parliamentary politics for years, it was the first time political observers could remember anything being burned inside the parliament itself.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a thinly veiled rebuke to the Trump administration and Israel over their opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, setting the stage for a divisive G7 summit next month.
Trudeau said he regrets Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement.
“We will respect the capacity of individual countries to make their decisions about foreign policy,” Trudeau said. “But for Canada’s purpose, we make our decisions around foreign policy here in Ottawa, not in Washington, not elsewhere.”
The prime minister said he expects the Iran decision to be a topic of discussion when he hosts Trump and their G7 counterparts in Quebec at their annual summit next month.
The 2015 agreement imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of most U.S. and international sanctions.