Tehran, YJC. Ayatollah Khatami says US policies against Iran are futile.
Addressing a large and
fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday,
Ayatollah Khatami said, "Fortunately, none of these plots have
worked."
He explained that the US wanted to practice its meddling policies
in Iran as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it realized that the Islamic Republic
is a different country, Fars news agency reports.
"The US presidents from (Jimmy) Carter to (Barack) Obama have
been trying to topple the Islamic system, but they did not succeed to do
so," Ayatollah Khatami said.
In relevant remarks early October, Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei voiced strong support for President
Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic efforts, but meantime avoided throwing his weight
behind each and every move that the president made in his recent New York
visit, saying that he lacks trust in the US.
"We support the movement in government's diplomacy, including
the New York visit, since we hold trust in the ... government and we are
optimistic about it, but some of what happened in the New York visit were not
proper because we believe the US administration is untrustworthy, conceited,
illogical and unfaithful to its pledges," Ayatollah Khamenei said,
addressing cadets graduation ceremony here in Tehran at the time.
He reiterated his confidence in the Iranian officials, yet, he
advised them "to take their steps strongly, but carefully and after
thorough study", underlining that the country's officials should always
have national interests, Islamic Republic's exalted causes and national honor
in mind.
Ayatollah Khatami elaborated on the reason for Iran's lack of
confidence in the US administration, and said, "Actually, the US
administration moves in the direction of the Zionists' interests, and it
blackmails the entire world and is blackmailed by the Zionist regime."
Ayatollah Khatami
further pointed to the US administrations' anti-Iran policies and said that
"from (former American president Jimmy) Carter to (current US president
Barack) Obama, they have all sought to overthrow the Islamic Establishment (in
Iran)” but have failed.
These comments came
on the 34th anniversary of a failed US operation in Tabas Desert, east of Iran.
On April 25, 1980,
when Carter was in the White House, the United States launched Operation Eagle
Claw in an attempt to rescue Americans held in the Iranian capital of Tehran
after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
However, a sandstorm
struck and brought down the US helicopters involved in the operation, killing
eight American servicemen.
The US Air Force,
Army, Navy and Marine Corps were all involved in the operation.
The botched attempt
brought further disgrace to the administration of former US President Jimmy
Carter in the eyes of the American public.
Many believe it
played a major role in Carter's defeat in the 1980 presidential election.
Iran marks the event
every year as a symbol of US failure.