A citizen holds an Iranian flag at the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former supreme leader of Iran. [Reuters]
A citizen holds an Iranian flag at the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, former supreme leader of Iran. [Reuters]

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei said the United States had repeatedly violated a ceasefire MOU, declaring that Washington had "once again proven that the US president's signature carries neither value nor effect."

Mojtaba Khamenei issued the statement in writing through Iranian state television on Saturday (local time). The statement came just hours after Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister and the country's lead negotiator in working-level talks with the US, announced that Iran was suspending its obligations under the MOU.

In the statement, Mojtaba Khamenei called the United States the "Great Satan" and criticized Washington, saying the "dark record of crimes and broken promises has become yet another clear piece of evidence of America's dishonesty, irrationality, untrustworthiness and baseness."

He went on to say that "coercion, hegemonism and savagery are inseparable elements of America's conduct," adding that Iran and the "Resistance Front" — the term used by Iran-aligned armed groups to describe themselves — "will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the enemy."

Meanwhile, US-Iran military exchanges have continued throughout the ceasefire negotiations, triggered by Iran's attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States carried out airstrikes on Iranian military facilities around the Strait of Hormuz for seven consecutive days through Saturday. Iran has been striking back at US military bases in other Middle Eastern countries allied with Washington, including Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.


yeongdai@heraldcorp.com