Donald Trump will fail in his confrontation with Iran just like Saddam Hussein, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said.
The Iranian leader, referring to the 1980-88 war between the two Middle Eastern powers, also vowed that Tehran will not abandon its missiles despite US pressure.
“The same will happen to Trump. America will suffer the same fate as Saddam Hussein,” Rouhani said on Saturday in a speech carried live by state television marking the start of the Iran-Iraq war.
“Iran will not abandon its defensive weapons … including its missiles that make America so angry.”
Rouhani’s comments come a day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit out at the Trump administration for being a “real threat”.
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“It is true that there is a real threat to our region and to international peace and security. That threat is the Trump Administration’s sense of entitlement to destabilise the world along with rogue accomplices in our region,” Zarif wrote on Twitter.
“The US must start acting like a normal state.”
Iran and the US have been engaged in a diplomatic tug-of-war and harsh rhetoric since Trump came to office.
During his campaign for the presidency, Trump repeatedly referred to the historic 2015 nuclear agreement as the “worst deal” ever and vowed to tear it apart.
He then withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May 2018, killing off US involvement from his predecessor Barack Obama’s greatest diplomatic feat.
The deal, which was signed between the US, other world powers, and Iran, saw Tehran reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
“The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we will know what exactly will happen,” said Trump at the time of US’ withdrawal from the deal which came with the reinstatement of US sanctions on Iran and threats of punitive measures against any state that continued to trade with it.
Trump wants a more far-reaching deal with Iran, which includes its missile programme, its involvement in wars in Yemen and Syria, and stance on Israel.
Earlier this month, Zarif accused Trump of planning to “abuse” the presidency of the UN Security Council to criticise Tehran.
He said the US leader “plans to abuse presidency of SC [Security Council] to divert a session – item devoted to Palestine for 70 yrs – to blame Iran for horrors US clients have unleashed across ME [Middle East]”.
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SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
