Iran’s supreme leader: Trump’s words don’t merit response

Tehran, May 17 (EFE).– Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday dismissed US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Tehran during his tour of the Middle East, saying they “do not deserve any response.”

“Some of the statements made during the US president’s visit to the region do not merit any reply,” Khamenei said during a speech to thousands of teachers in Tehran.

He described Trump’s comments during visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates as “shameful,” accusing the US president of lying when he claimed Washington uses power in the service of peace.

“Trump said he wants to use power for peace. He lied,” Khamenei said, prompting chants of “Death to America!”—a common refrain at such gatherings.

Iran’s top leader accused Trump and other US officials of using their power to fuel war and “slaughter” in Gaza and other parts of the Middle East.

The comments come in response to a speech Trump gave Tuesday in Riyadh, where he labeled Iran “the largest and most destructive force in the region,” blaming it for “unthinkable suffering” in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, and beyond.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi slammed Trump’s accusations as “deceptive,” pointing instead to Israel as the real threat due to its ongoing military actions in Gaza.

Trump also warned that if Iran failed to act quickly on a US proposal to revive nuclear talks, “something bad will happen.”

Tehran, however, has denied receiving any formal proposal and said it does not fear Washington’s threats.

“No one believes Trump’s words against the Iranian nation,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday in a speech to naval officers in Tehran, according to the state-run IRNA agency.

“On the one hand, he talks about peace, and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass extermination,” Pezeshkian said.

The remarks come amid ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US, which began Apr. 12 and have so far gone through four rounds.

While both sides have agreed to continue talks, no date or venue for the next session has been set.

Iran is seeking the lifting of economic sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activity, while Washington is pushing for broader concessions, including curbs on Tehran’s missile program and its support for regional groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels. EFE ash-sk