Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday said the enemies of the Islamic Republic were being defeated in the war against the US and Israel in a written message for the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
“At the moment, due to the particular unity that has been created between you our compatriots – despite all the differences in religious, intellectual, cultural and political origins – the enemy has been defeated,” said Khamenei, who is yet to appear in public after being named to succeed his father Ali Khamenei who was killed in an airstrike at the a start of the war.
He also claimed that Iranians had dealt a “dizzying blow” to the country’s enemies during the war.
By showing unity and resolve, Iranians had “dealt him (the enemy) a dizzying blow so that he now starts uttering contradictory words and nonsense,” Khamenei said in a written message for Persian New Year.
He also said Iran and allied forces in the region were “in no way” behind attacks on Oman and Turkey during the war, instead blaming “deception by the Zionist enemy” in reference to Israel.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump assailed NATO allies on Friday over their lack of support for the US-Israel war against Iran, calling the longtime US allies “cowards.”
“Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!” Trump said in a social media post.
Trump has been calling for major US allies and others, none of which were consulted or advised on the war, to help secure the safety of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict has roiled global markets, killed thousands and displaced millions since US-Israel strikes began on Feb. 28.
The US president complained NATO countries did not want to join the fight against Iran yet still complain about high oil prices.
“Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices. So easy for them to do, with so little risk,” he wrote.
“COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!”
Written with reports from Alarabiya News
