Khamenei says Iran grew stronger after June war, dealt a blow to US-Israel, and warns against foreign-fueled
\n Tehran
\nIran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for a united national front to confront what he described as US efforts to subjugate the Islamic republic. The remarks, delivered at a mosque in the capital Tehran and published on Khamenei\u2019s official website, come two months since fighting halted between Iran and its sworn enemy Israel in a war that the United States had briefly joined, and as Tehran is engaged in talks with world powers about its nuclear programme.
\nThe rare Israeli and US attacks in June, which targeted key nuclear sites and prompted Iranian retaliation, were designed to destabilise the Islamic republic, Khamenei argued.
\nHe said that a day after \u201cIran was attacked\u201d by Israel at the start of the war, \u201cAmerican agents\u201d met in Europe \u201cto discuss what government should rule Iran after the Islamic republic\u201d.
\nKhamenei claimed that the United States was ultimately seeking to make Iran \u201cobedient to it\u201d.
\nTo the leader, the country has emerged strong from the 12-day war in June, the most intense direct confrontation in its history with arch foes Israel and the United States.
\n\u201cThe Iranian nation, by standing firm alongside the armed forces, the government and the system, delivered a strong blow\u201d to its enemies, Khamenei said.
\nThe supreme leader, who has the final say on state affairs, also warned against internal divisions he said foreign powers were fomenting.
\n\u201cThe way forward for the enemy is to create discord\u201d in Iran, he said, blaming \u201cagents of America and the Zionist regime\u201d \u2014 a reference to Israel \u2014 for seeking to sow division.
\n\u201cToday, thanks to God, the country is united. There are differences of opinion, but when it comes to defending the system, defending the country, and standing up against the enemy, the people are united,\u201d Khamenei added.
\nRelations between Tehran and Washington were severed after the 1979 Islamic revolution and the subsequent hostage crisis at the US embassy.
\nWashington has since imposed successive waves of sanctions on Tehran, most recently over its nuclear programme.
\nThe United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has repeatedly denied.
\nThe June war broke out as Tehran and Washington were due to hold their sixth round of talks on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, but the negotiations that had begun weeks earlier were derailed by the conflict.
\nIran is due to meet on Tuesday with Britain, France and Germany for nuclear talks, as the European powers have threatened to reimpose sanctions if no agreement is reached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Khamenei says Iran grew stronger after June war, dealt a blow to US-Israel, and warns against foreign-fueled Tehran Iran\u2019s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for a united national front to confront what he described as US efforts to subjugate the Islamic republic. The remarks, delivered at a mosque in the capital Tehran […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-498798","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n