Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami:

No thaw in Iran-US ties

Rasa – A senior Iranian cleric said Washington is wrong to think that there has been an improvement in Iran-US relations following a recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

News ID: 3394

Date: 24 September 2015 - 15:01

RNA – The United States is trying to make everyone believe that there has been a thaw in relations between Tehran and Washington but it is not so since Iran and the US have sharp differences, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said in his Thursday sermon in Tehran, delivered before Eid al-Adha prayers.

“The US is the enemy of the Muslim world due to its support for the slaughterer and occupying Zionist regime, giving rise to terrorist groups like ISIL and backing criminals in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria,” he added.

He also said that Washington is hatching new plots against the Islamic Republic following the finalization of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“They are targeting our religion,” the cleric stated.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.

While many consider the JCPOA – the finalized text of the agreement- a major breakthrough in the improvement of ties between Iran and the West, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution,

Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, has made it clear that Tehran’s policy towards the US will remain unchanged regardless of the ultimate fate of the JCPOA.

In a speech in August, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that Iran acts “decisively” to block Washington’s abuse of the outcomes of the nuclear talks, noting, “With all our strong capabilities, we will not allow Americans’ economic, political or cultural infiltration or political presence in Iran.”

The Leader further highlighted the irreconcilability of the regional policies of Iran and the US, saying, “Iran fully defends the (axis of anti-Israeli) resistance in the region, including the Palestinian resistance, and will support anyone who confronts Israel and hammers the Zionist regime.”

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