Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran. Photo: Wiki Commons.

Iranian leader Ali Khamanei reiterated the “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” slogans, and called the United States a state sponsor of terrorism in two public addresses marking the conclusion of the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, the Middle East Monitoring and Research Institute (MEMRI) reports.

“The slogans of the Iranian nation on Al-Qods Day show what its position is. The slogans ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ have resounded throughout the country, and are not limited to Tehran and the other large cities. The entire country is under the umbrella of this great movement [of ‘Death to America’],” Khamanei said while holding a rifle, during a public address broadcasted on IRINN TV and translated by MEMRI.

On the same day, Khamenei addressed diplomats and special guests, accusing the U.S.of promoting terrorism and defended Hezbollah.

“What, [the American politician] are calling [Hizballah] terrorists?! They call Iran a ‘defender of terrorist’ because of its support for [Hizballah]. Defenders of terrorists?! It is you! You are the ones who have created ISIS! You are the ones who have been cultivating terrorism! You are the ones who have been nurturing the filthy terrorist Zionist! You are the defenders of terrorists, and you should be brought to trial for supporting and assisting terrorism,” Khamenei said in a speech aired on Iranian Channel 1, according to MEMRI’s translation.

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed that the world superpowers recognized a nuclear Iran immediately after the announcement of a deal regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program. He also boasted that Iran will maintain over 6,000 centrifuges.

It is important to emphasize that issues related to Iran’s human rights record and global sponsorship of terrorism were not part of the negotiations. Many experts and critics of the deal believe that sanction relief and the lifting of weapons embargoes will enable the Islamic Republic to enhance its regional hegemonic ambitions and international terrorist activity.

Steven Emerson is the Executive Director the Investigative Project on Terrorism (www.investigativeproject.org) where this article first appeared.