Iranian chant remains

‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ MANTRA DEFENDED

Iranians will chant “death to America” as long as Washington continues its hostile policies, but the slogan is directed at President Donald Trump and US leaders, not the American nation, Iran’s supreme leader said yesterday.

“As long as America continues its wickedness, the Iranian nation will not abandon ‘death to America’,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a gathering of Iranian Air Force officers marking the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, according to his official website.

Trump pulled out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last year and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, dealing a blow to the country’s economy.

“‘Death to America’ means death to Trump, (national security advisor) John Bolton, and (secretary of state) Mike Pompeo. It means death to American rulers,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

European signatories of the nuclear deal have been trying to save the accord, but Khamenei said they could not be trusted.

“I recommend that one should not trust the Europeans just as the Americans,” Khamenei said. “We don’t say, don’t have contacts with them, but it’s an issue of trust.”

The European Union has stepped up criticism of Iran’s ballistic missiles programme while remaining committed to the 2015 nuclear deal. Meanwhile, the US military is preparing to withdraw American forces from Syria by the end of April and a significant portion of them will be out by the middle of March, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing current and former US officials.

A US official confirmed the April target, saying the withdrawal included a pull-out from the US military base at Tanf, near the Syrian border with Iraq and Jordan.

Trump announced in December he was pulling all 2 000 US troops out of Syria, saying the battle against Islamic State there was almost won.

The president’s sudden decision surprised many in his own administration as well as coalition allies such as Turkey and an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias that fought Islamic State with US military support. Washington has been trying to reach agreement with Turkey, which considers the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia a terrorist organisation, for the safety of the YPG fighters after it pulls out.

It is also discussing setting up a safe zone along the border to address Turkish security concerns.

It’s an issue of trust