Envoy raps 'idiotic' Trump for calling Iran 'nation of terror'

Iran's envoy to the UN has hit out at US President Donald Trump's "idiotic" terror accusations, saying Tehran has been the biggest victim and strongest enemy of terrorism in the region.

News ID: 445027

Date: 24 May 2019 - 18:32

RNA - The strong reaction by Majid Takht-Ravanchi came after Trump on Thursday called Iran "a nation of terror" despite his earlier patronizing messages to the Iranian people.

"The US president's contradictory words about Iran clearly show his endless hostility toward Iran and the great Iranian nation," Takht-Ravanchi said.

"These idiotic remarks, more than anything, show [Trump's] ignorance of thousands of years of the Iranian history, and a lack of knowledge about the country," the Iranian envoy added.

Speaking to reporters in Washington Thursday, Trump said, “Iran has been a very dangerous player, a very bad player. They are a nation of terror and we won’t put up with it."

Iranians, he alleged, is now suffering from massive financial problems, adding they have inflation that’s about the highest in the world.

Trump pulled the US out of an international nuclear deal with Iran last year, and reimposed toughest sanctions ever on the country, drawing rebuke even from the United States' closest allies.

"Trump's insistence on using insulting words against Iran only doubles the Iranian nation's determination to resist the policy of pressure and intimidation," Takht-Ravanchi said.

He said Iran has been "the biggest victim and at the same time the strongest enemy of terrorism in the region."

"Destroying Daesh and other similar terror groups in recent years has been among the latest measures of Iran in this regard," he added.

Since taking office in 2016, Trump has flip-flopped on the Iranian nation: he has once in a while called the Iranians "a terrorist nation" and soon after expressed his support for them.

In January 2018, Trump announced his “respect” for small riots in some Iranian cities, saying the US would provide “great support” to them “at the appropriate time.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif fired back.

“Trump has an odd way of showing ‘such respect’ for Iranians: from labeling them a ‘terrorist nation’ & banning them from visiting the US, to petty insults on the name of the Persian Gulf,” Zarif said at the time.

On Monday, a senior Iranian official said Trump is a "crazy president" whose threats against Iran aren't going to work, adding if the US president wants to talk, he'll not only have to show some respect, but come up with a consistent message.

His remarks came after Trump called Iran “No. 1 provocateur of terror” and threatened the country with “official end”.

"In his mind, Trump thinks he has a gun to Iran's head with sanctions and he is trying to shut down our economy," Iran's director of foreign affairs for the country's parliament, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, told CNN.

"Also, Trump is not quite balanced and stable in his decision making, so we are dealing with a confused White House," he said.

Amir-Abdollahian said Trump has "got no idea about the culture and mentality of the Iranian people" if he thinks threats will work against Iran.

"Forty years of Islamic Revolution in Iran have shown that you cannot talk to Iran through threats," the official said.

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