Iran’s supreme leader criticizes both US presidential candidates

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also derided Americans as “liars, untrustworthy, deceitful and backstabbers,” while saying he still opposed any direct or broader negotiations on other issues with the US following the nuclear deal.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized both Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump in a speech, saying their comments in the presidential debates “are sufficient for the annihilation of the reputation of the United States.”

He spoke on Wednesday in an event marking the 1979 hostile takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.

He did not mention either candidate by name.

Iran’s state television aired two of the three debates live.

He also derided Americans as “liars, untrustworthy, deceitful and backstabbers,” while saying he still opposed any direct or broader negotiations on other issues with the US following the nuclear deal, a theme he has stressed multiple times on various occasions.

Iran’s Islamist rulers fear external Western or secular influences on the country’ population, and work diligently to block any such sway, sometimes resorting to ridiculous actions to do so.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in October described Trump and Clinton as “bad and worse,” without specifying which was which.

By: World Israel News Staff
AP contributed to this report.

Hillary ClintonIranKhameneiUS 2016 elections