‘KEEP DREAMING’
Leader rejects Trump’s claim of dismantling Iran’s nuclear program
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei rejected remarks by US President Donald Trump that the United States has destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities during its June’s aggression, saying, “Keep dreaming!”
Ayatollah Khamenei made the assertion during a Monday meeting with hundreds of Iranian athletes and medalists from various sports and international scientific Olympiads.
Since the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22, Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US strikes have “totally obliterated" the three flagship nuclear facilities in Iran.
“Fine, keep dreaming!” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “But who do you think you are to make any prescriptions about whether a country can or cannot have a nuclear industry?”
Ayatollah Khamenei also condemned the bullying and baseless rhetoric of the US president, saying his recent behavior aimed to “raise the spirit of the Zionists and make himself look powerful through lies about Iran, the region, and its people.”
“If he is truly powerful, let him calm the millions of people in all US states who are chanting against him.”
"Trump says he is a dealmaker, but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but rather an imposition and bullying," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations that ended with the 12-day war in June in which Israel and the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
Last week, Trump told the Israeli parliament that it would be great if Washington could negotiate a "peace deal" with Tehran.
Ayatollah Khamenei also called Trump's claims that the US is at war with terrorism yet another example of his lies.
"More than 20,000 children and infants have been martyred in the Gaza war. Were they terrorists? The real terrorist is America, which created Daesh, unleashed it on the region."
He also described the killing of about 70,000 people in the Gaza Strip, as well as the killing of over a thousand Iranians in the 12-day war, as clear evidence of the terrorist nature of the US and Israel.
He also noted that in June’s illegal aggression against the Islamic Republic, Iran delivered an “unbelievable” slap in the face of the Zionists and drove them to despair.
“The Zionists did not expect that Iranian missiles, with their flames and fire, could penetrate deep into their sensitive and vital centers, destroy them, and turn them into ashes,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.
He further emphasized that Iran did not buy or rent its missiles from anywhere, but manufactured them by its youth.
“These missiles were prepared and used by our armed forces and military industries, and they still have them. If necessary, they will use them again at another time,” he said.