Post by : Meena Ariff

Photo: Reuters

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had saved Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from being killed. He was angry that Khamenei did not thank him for it and warned that the United States would bomb Iran again if it tried to make nuclear weapons.

Trump said he knew exactly where Khamenei was hiding but decided not to let anyone harm him. He added, “I saved him from a very ugly and dishonorable death, and he doesn’t even have to say ‘thank you, President Trump.’”

Trump was upset because Khamenei made a strong speech saying that Iran had beaten Israel and had given the United States a “slap.” Khamenei also said the reports about damage to Iran’s nuclear sites from recent bombings were not true and were exaggerated.

Trump explained that he had been working on removing some sanctions on Iran, which is something Iran has wanted for a long time. But after hearing Khamenei’s harsh words, he said he stopped working on it immediately. He asked Iran to come back to the negotiating table if they wanted relief from sanctions.

Iran said it was not planning to start any nuclear talks with the United States soon. The Iranian government also rejected a request from the head of the United Nations’ nuclear agency to visit sites bombed by Israel and the US, saying such a visit showed “bad intentions.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister criticized the UN official for not speaking against the air strikes, calling it a betrayal of his duties.

Earlier, Trump’s special envoy had hoped for a complete peace agreement with Iran. But when asked if he would bomb Iran again if the earlier attacks did not stop its nuclear plans, Trump said, “Yes, without question. Absolutely.”

Trump said that Iran and Khamenei “got beaten badly” in the recent fighting with the United States and Israel, and he thought it was the right time to end the conflict.

In his speech after the ceasefire, Khamenei claimed that Iran had won against Israel and promised never to give in to pressure from America. He said Trump exaggerated what had happened because he needed to show he was strong.

The recent fighting started on June 13 when Israel bombed Iran to stop it from developing nuclear weapons. Israel’s Foreign Minister said that Israel acted at the last possible moment to stop a big threat to its country, the region, and the world.

He also said the world must now stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons in any way possible.

There was a lot of talk about Khamenei’s safety before he finally appeared on television and gave his speech after the ceasefire.