Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 72nd session of United Nations General Assembly on the second day of the general debate at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
Iranian leaders on Thursday reacted strongly to the recent anti-Iran remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying such hostile words will not intimidate the Islamic republic.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced as "foolish" Trump's speech at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that accused Tehran of "destabilizing" the Middle East and "supporting terror."
"That foolish, extremely ugly and hideous speech by the U.S. president, with its gangster and cowboy language fraught with sheer lies, stems from their fury and frustration," Khamenei told a meeting with members of Iran's Assembly of Experts.
Trump also called the Iran nuclear deal, reached during former U.S. President Barack Obama's administration in 2015, "an embarrassment" for the United States, indicating that he may not recertify the deal at its mid-October deadline.
Trump's hostile speech against Iran at the United Nations did not bring any pride to the United States, said Khamenei.
"The American elite should be ashamed of having such a president," Khamenei said.
Washington's anger is also rooted in its failure to advance its agenda in the West Asia, where Iran has played an influential, dignified and successful role, he said.
A day earlier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed Trump's speech as "ignorant and spiteful."
Trump's "rhetoric against Iran was ignorant and spiteful, abundant with false information and baseless allegations," Rouhani said, addressing the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
Rouhani also reaffirmed Iran's support to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The deal is the outcome of two years of intensive multilateral negotiations, overwhelmingly applauded by the international community and endorsed by the UN Security Council (UNSC) as a part of Resolution 2231, Rouhani noted.
"The JCPOA does not belong to one or two countries. It is a UNSC document, which belongs to the entire international community," Rouhani said, adding that Iran would respond to any breach of the JCPOA.
Rouhani ruled out any talks with the United States on revisiting the 2015 nuclear accord, saying Tehran has "various options" if Washington pulls out, official IRNA news agency reported.
"Iran has never sought, is not now seeking and will never seek nuclear weapons," he said.
Also, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed Trump's hostile remarks about Iran at the UN General Assembly as a "cheap" political stunt, Financial Tribune daily reported Thursday.
"His remarks, particularly where he mentioned the great Iranian nation, were cheap, empty rhetoric and are not worth a response," Zarif was quoted as saying.
"The shameless and ignorant remarks of the U.S. president and ignoring the realities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in its domestic and foreign policy and (its role) in the fight against terrorism reflect the depth of ignorance in his behavior and populist words," he said.
The Iranian foreign minister ruled out the reopening of negotiations on Iran's nuclear deal as well.
Iran and six world powers, namely Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, reached the JCPOA in July 2015, in which Iran freezes its nuclear weapon program in exchange for sanctions relief by the United States.
The deal sets limits on Iran's nuclear activities and allows regular inspections of the facilities inside Iran.
In return, the United States and the European Union have lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.
