Reacting to a speech that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had given on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he found it "very disturbing."
"I don't know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that's his policy," Kerry said in the interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television, reports Business Insider. "But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it's very disturbing, it's very troubling," he added.
On Saturday, Khamenei - in a particularly inflammatory speech - had told his supporters that U.S. policies in the region were "180 degrees" opposed to Iran's. The speech at the Tehran mosque was punctuated by chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." "We have repeatedly said we don't negotiate with the U.S. on regional or international affairs; not even on bilateral issues," he said. "There are some exceptions like the nuclear program that we negotiated with the Americans to serve our interests. We will never stop supporting our friends in the region and the people of Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon," he continued, referring to the Iranian terror axis in the Middle East. "Even after this deal our policy towards the arrogant U.S. will not change," reports Arutz Sheva, Israel National News.
Many Gulf Arab states have long accused Tehran of interference, in countries including Bahrain, Yemen and Lebanon, alleging financial or armed support for political movements. Kerry said the U.S. believed its Arab allies had the ability to confront Iranian interference in the region. "I think President Obama's belief and our military assessments, our intelligence assessments, are that if they organized themselves correctly, all of the Arab states have an untapped potential that is very, very significant to be able to push back against any of these activities," he said, according to Reuters.
