Rouhani follows up on Khameni's clown slur by calling Trump a 'global agitator'

Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech in Tehran. File picture: Office of the Iranian Presidency via AP

Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech in Tehran. File picture: Office of the Iranian Presidency via AP

Published Jan 18, 2020

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Tehran - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has followed the lead

of Iran's supreme leader in speaking out against US President Donald

Trump, calling him a "global agitator" and accusing him of worsening

the situation in several regions of the world.

"In the past two years, he and the American government have only

brought about unrest," Rouhani said in a speech in the south-eastern

city of Zahedan on Saturday. There are more crises now than there

were prior to the start of Trump's term, Rouhani said.

"Not only in Iran, but also in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in

Afghanistan - he has brought about more trouble everywhere," Rouhani

said in comments carried by broadcaster Chabar.

On Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Trump

and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "clowns" while leading prayers

in Tehran for the first time in eight years.

Trump responded to the comments on Twitter with a quip that Khamenei

had "not been so Supreme lately."

"Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should

be very careful with his words!" Trump wrote.

The verbal spat between Iranian leadership and the US president is

the result of months of tension over the crumbling Iran nuclear deal,

which the United States withdrew from in May 2018, and the targeted

killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike at

Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

dpa

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