Iran to Trump: Your threats don't intimidate us
Iran leader dismisses US President's warning over missile tests
TEHERAN: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has dismissed Mr Donald Trump's warning to Iran to stop its missile tests, saying the new US president had shown the "real face" of American corruption.
He said "We are thankful to (Trump) for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America," Mr Khamenei told a meeting of military commanders in Teheran, according to his website.
"During his election campaign and after that, he confirmed what we have been saying for more than 30 years about the political, economic, moral and social corruption in the US ruling system," he added.
Mr Trump responded to an Iranian missile test on Jan 29 by saying "Iran is playing with fire" and slapping fresh sanctions on individuals and entities, some of them linked to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.
The White House said the test was not a direct breach of a 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers but "violates the spirit of that".
A UN Security Council resolution underpinning the pact urges Iran to refrain from testing missiles designed to be able to carry nuclear warheads, but imposes no obligation.
"No enemy can paralyse the Iranian nation," Mr Khamenei said. "(Trump) says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb 10 and will show their stance against such threats."
Mr Khamenei was referring to the rallies to be held nationwide on Friday, to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic republic. It was on this day in 1979 that a revolution led by Muslim clerics overthrew the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the US.
He also responded to Mr Trump's tweet on Feb 3, when the US president said: "...they (Iran) don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them."
Mr Khamenei ridiculed the idea of being grateful to former president Barack Obama, saying he was the one who placed "paralysing sanctions" on Iran and helped create the Islamic State group through his destabilising actions in Iraq and Syria.
DIFFICULT DAYS
Earlier, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that with Mr Trump in the White House, Teheran faced "difficult days ahead" regarding its nuclear deal with Washington and other major powers.
"I believe Trump may try to renegotiate the deal, but clearly, neither Iran, nor the Europeans or the international community will accept new negotiations," Mr Zarif told Ettelaat newspaper in an interview published yesterday. - WIRE SERVICES
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