Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that his country’s hatred for the United States runs deep and differences between the two nations go beyond a “few political issues”.
The Leader’s comments less than a week before the American presidential elections were seen as a signal that a thaw in US-Iran relations was not expected no matter who wins the Nov. 4 race unless the new White House leaders embark on a fundamental change in their approach towards Iran.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the hatred is rooted in 50 years of US intervention in Iran’s domestic affairs and hostility toward Tehran.
“The hatred of the Iranian nation is deep-seated. The reason is the various conspiracies by the US government against the Iranian people and government in the past 50 years,” he said.
He was addressing a group of students in Tehran days ahead of the 29th anniversary of the 1979 storming of the US espionage center in Tehran by Islamist students.
Iran blames the CIA for helping topple the elected government of Mohammad Mosaddeq in the 1950s and blames the United States for openly supporting the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi against the 1979 Islamic Revolution that led to the collapse of the dynasty.
Iranians also condemn Washington for arming and supporting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
“This dispute (with America) goes further than differences of opinion over a few political issues,” the Supreme Leader said.
The United States and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States’ espionage center at its embassy in the heart of Tehran. The two countries have had tense relations ever since.
