Khamenei stands defiant on Iran’s regional military presence
In a speech replete with diatribes against the United States, Iran’s supreme leader defended his country’s controversial regional policies and accused Washington of “inverting the truth.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed that the Islamic Republic’s presence in countries such as Iraq and Syria is not for military control, but rather for “advisory” assistance.
“We are there to support sovereign governments at their own behest,” he said, rejecting the US depiction of Iran as a “destabilizing” factor. Khamenei also criticized the American military for establishing bases in those two countries “without permission” from the hosts.
The issue of Iran’s influence in the region has been at the core of its tensions with the West and Khamenei’s latest remarks appeared as yet another message of defiance and a clear statement that the issue is not up for negotiations. Instead, he insisted that it is the United States “that must leave Iraq and Syria.”
“They claim they are against Weapons of Mass Destruction,” the Iranian leader said, before throwing a sarcastic quip at the US “lying” because “they possess the worst and most dangerous of such weapons and they have used them.”
