Don slams Iran govt on Nowruz

Washington, March 20: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticised Iran’s powerful Islamic revolutionary guard corps and the country’s leadership while greeting Iranians celebrating the New Year’s holiday known as Nowruz.

Mr Trump, who has threatened to pull Washington out of a multilateral deal with Tehran to curb its nuclear programme, said Iranians, on Tuesday, are grappling with “rulers who serve themselves instead of serving the people.” “I wish a beautiful and blessed Nowruz to the millions of people around the world who are celebrating the arrival of spring. The history of Nowruz is rooted in Iran, where for millennia a proud nation has overcome great challenges by the strength of its culture and the resilience of its people,” Mr Trump said. “Today, the Iranian people face another challenge: rulers who serve themselves instead of serving the people,” he said in his annual message on Nowruz, which is being celebrated on Tuesday.

Twenty- five centuries ago, he said, Darius the Great asked God to protect Iran from three dangers: hostile armies, drought, and falsehood.

“Today, the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ( IRGC) represents all three,” he alleged.

First, the IRGC is not Iranian in name or deed. It is a hostile army that brutalises and steals.

Today, the Iranian people face another challenge: rulers who serve themselves instead of serving the people — Donald Trump, US Prez

— AFP People affected by the last September 19 earthquake hold a protest to commemorate six months of the event and asking for the reconstruction of their homes in Mexico City, on Tuesday.