Iran's Supreme leader says Trump lied about using power to ensure peace

Tehran, May 18 (IANS) Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has denounced as "a lie" US President Donald Trump's recent claim that he sought to use power to ensure peace, citing the Trump administration's support for the killings in the Gaza Strip.

Khamenei made the remarks on Saturday at a meeting with a large number of teachers in Tehran, while reacting to Trump's comments on wanting peace in the region during his tour of West Asia earlier this week, according to footage of his remarks published on his website.

"The recent remarks of the US President during his visit to the region are a disgrace to the speaker and a disgrace to the American nation," he said during a public event on Saturday in Tehran, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.

"Trump said he wants to use power for peace; he lied. He and other US officials, and US administrations have used power to support the killings in Gaza, for warmongering in any place they can, and to back their mercenaries," the Iranian leader said.

Khamenei reiterated his threats against Israel, calling it "the Zionist regime," and "a dangerous and malignant cancerous tumor in this region (that) must and will be uprooted."

He expressed confidence that with the determination and efforts of regional countries, the US must and will leave the region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier this week, Trump visited three Gulf Arab states -- Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which are located in West Asia.

In remarks in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump described Iran as the "most destructive force" in the Middle East and accused it of fueling regional instability, vowing that the US would never let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon.

However, Trump wants to avoid a deal with Iran that resembles the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached during Barack Obama's presidency and included the European Union and China. Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. The following year, Iran stopped complying with the broken deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the country won't renounce its right to a peaceful nuclear program, but guaranteed good faith in negotiations with the US

The trading of accusations between Tehran and Washington comes as the two sides have held four rounds of indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of US sanctions over the past weeks, with mediation from Oman.

--IANS

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