Iran Leader Praises Anti-US Missile Strike, Blasts ‘Clown’ Trump
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says America has a 'terrorist nature'
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During a rare appearance at massive Islamic prayer Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the recent missile strikes against US troops in Iraq, declaring the attacks a "day of God."
Khamenei also blasted President Donald Trump as a "clown" and told worshipers that America has a "terrorist nature" as he delivered Friday prayers for the first time in eight years.
The leader of the Islamic Republic regime went on to accuse the United States of using the Ukrainian passenger plane crash - which Iran shot down with a missile and initially tried to cover up - as a distraction.
“The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God,” the supreme leader said, according to Reuters.
“These American clowns, who lie and say they are with the Iranian people, should see who the Iranian people are,” Khamenei added.
The Iranian leader appeared to be a reference to President Trump's message of support for the people of Iran during recent anti-government protests.
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Khameini accuses the U.S. of using Iran’s horrific downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 to shift international attention from the Trump-ordered strike that took out Iran’s top military leader, Qassem Soleimani.
Khameini claimed terrorist Soleimani was “mourned” by “millions in Iran.”
“Khamenei told the crowd Friday that Trump is not to be trusted and only pretends to support the Iranian people,” Fox News reports.
“He said Western countries are too weak to ‘bring Iranians to their knees.’
"He said Iran was willing to negotiate, but not with the U.S.”
Since Khamenei has not addressed Friday prayers in Tehran since 2012, one Middle East scholar told the Washington Post that his address is a “symbolically significant act.”
On January 8, the Iranian regime launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq at the Asad airbase in Anbar Province.
To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020
The attack followed an airstrike in Baghdad ordered by President Trump that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who he described as one of the “worst terrorists in history and the father of the roadside bomb.”
Though no Americans or Iraqis were killed or wounded in the blast, a recent report shows that at least 11 U.S. troops were treated for injuries like concussions.
“No one was killed or wounded in the five barrages of multiple missiles that night, although several military personnel who were working were checked for concussions,” The New York Times reported.
“The absence of casualties seemed to be the result of luck and warnings.”
A spokesman for the U.S. military command in Baghdad also said: “As previously stated, while no U.S. service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attack on Al Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed.”
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Shortly after the missile strike, Iran shot down a Ukranian jetliner that killed 176 people, presumably mistaking the plane for a U.S. counter-attack.
Khamenei referred to the tragedy as a “bitter accident” that Iranians mourned.
Meeting in London on Thursday, ministers from Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and Ukraine – all of which lost citizens in the crash – demanded full-transparency from Iran during the downed-plane investigation as well as compensation.
“We are here to pursue closure, accountability, transparency, and justice for the victims – Ukrainian, Swedish, Afghan, British, Canadian as well as Iranian, through a full complete and transparent international investigation,” said Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
“In the wake of such a horrific tragedy, there are many many questions.
"Families want answers, all of the countries assembled here today want answers, and the international community wants answers.
"The world is waiting for those answers and we will not rest until we get them.”
