Iran's Hassan Rouhani calls Donald Trump a 'global agitator'

"In the past two years, he and the American government have only brought about unrest. There are more crises now than there were prior to the start of Trump's term. Not only in Iran, but also in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan - he has brought about more trouble everywhere," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech in the south-eastern city of Zahedan on Saturday.

World
DPA
Published Date: 07:22 | 18 January 2020
Modified Date: 07:24 | 18 January 2020

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has followed the lead of Iran's supreme leader in speaking out against US President Donald Trump, calling him a "global agitator" and accusing him of worsening the situation in several regions of the world.

"In the past two years, he and the American government have only brought about unrest," Rouhani said in a speech in the south-eastern city of Zahedan on Saturday. There are more crises now than there were prior to the start of Trump's term, Rouhani said.

"Not only in Iran, but also in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan - he has brought about more trouble everywhere," Rouhani said in comments carried by broadcaster Chabar.

On Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "clowns" while leading prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years.

Trump responded to the comments on Twitter with a quip that Khamenei had "not been so Supreme lately."

"Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words!" Trump wrote.

The verbal spat between Iranian leadership and the US president is the result of months of tension over the crumbling Iran nuclear deal, which the United States withdrew from in May 2018, and the targeted killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

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