Ayatollah Khamenei won't trust "the Great Satan"

ANKARA: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran did not intend to cooperate on regional issues with its enemies; the United States and Britain. He also accused the States of not committing to a nuclear deal that was reached between Tehran and six other countries in 2015.

In a speech broadcast live on state television, Khamenei said, "America has continued its enmity towards Iran since (the 1979 Islamic) revolution... It is a huge mistake to trust evil Britain and the Great Satan (the United States). We will not cooperate with America over the regional crisis. Their aims in the region are 180 degrees opposed to Iran's." When asked to respond, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said he did not really have a response. "His rhetoric is always somewhat hyperbolic and so we take it with a grain of salt and don't necessarily rise to the bait," he said.

Both the sides have had common interests and threats across the Middle East. They have also cooperated tactically in the past, even when Tehran helped Washinton counter al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Islamic State militants in Iraq. "They use human rights, terrorism... as pretexts to avoid fulfilling their commitments. If we remain strong and united and revolutionary, those who are trying to bully Iran and are against us will not succeed," Khamenei said.

His comments come ahead of plans by the UN Security Council to discuss possible air drops of aid to Syrian areas under siege. Iran has been accused by the US and its allies of interfering in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries, particularly Syria. While officially Iran denies it has deployed any combat troops in Syria, but it is believed Tehran provides both military and economic support to staunch ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On the other hand, the US and its Western allies, along with a couple of Gulf Arab nations, back the Syrian rebels fighting to topple Assad.

Khamenei spoke at a ceremony marking the 27th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought hard-line clerics to power and ousted US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Tens of thousands of Iranians attended the ceremony in Tehran.