Iranian political leaders and the chief of the Iran-sponsored terror group Hezbollah mocked U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend, calling him an “idiot,” among other insults.
In a televised speech, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday that Trump had shown “the true face of the U.S. administration,” calling it “ugly, unjust, criminal, and racist.”
Nasrallah proclaimed that he and his allies were not frightened by the new American president. “We are not worried, but very optimistic because when an idiot resides in the White House, this is the beginning of the release for the oppressed in the world,” he said. The Los Angeles Times noted that the Arabic word for “idiot” that Nasrallah used could also be translated as “fool.”
Nasrallah’s allies in Iran were similarly dismissive of Trump, who tweeted two weeks ago that Iran “has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile.” The following day, the U.S. placed sanctions on more than two dozen new Iranian entities or companies for their role in Iran’s ballistic missile and terrorism programs.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a former foreign minister who is a close adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Sunday that “we are by no means worried about Trump’s comments.” He explained that, despite his harsh rhetoric, Trump is a calculating man who understands that in a conflict with Iran, the United States would face an “iron dam” that would result in an “unprecedented defeat.”
Kamal Kharrazi, another former foreign minister who now heads Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, told Tasnim in a separate interview on Saturday that “Trump is a rookie person and a newcomer on political scene and has made many mistakes.”
Kharrazi appeared to be echoing Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who last week publicly warned “rookie politicians” that the “language of respect and dignity” is the only way to treat Iran.
Notwithstanding Rouhani’s call for the “language of respect and dignity,” Iranian officials, especially Khamenei, frequently mocked and threatened Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
Shortly after the nuclear deal was agreed upon in July 2015, Khamenei tweeted an image that appeared to be Obama with a gun to his head, alongside the text, “US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but… if any war happens, the one who will emerge loser will be the aggressive and criminal U.S.”
US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.. pic.twitter.com/D4Co7fVuVg
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) July 25, 2015
Two months later, Khamenei released a video called “If any war happens,” which contained a quote from the Supreme Leader that “should any war break out, one who will emerge humiliated out of it will be invading and criminal America.”
Last May, Khamenei mocked Obama’s Nowruz holiday message and stated that the United States was Iran’s “main enemy.” Khamenei added that Iran “sees the United States as [the] main enemy with the Zionist regime standing behind it,” and praised Hezbollah for being “strong enough not to suffer any damages from some pressures and there is no doubt the fear and scare the Zionist regime today has of Hezbollah is much more than the past.”
A video released last August by Iran’s Organization of Islamic Information, which is controlled by Khamenei, depicted American naval ships being destroyed by Iranian fighters.
[Photo: Sayed Hasan / YouTube ]