Iran's Doublespeak (1) – Rohani: Rebuild And Improve Relations With The U.S.; Khamenei: America Is Satan; Crowd: 'Death To America'

On January 8, 2014, Iran's President Hassan Rohani published a column on the website project-syndicate.org stating that Iran seeks to improve its bilateral relations with the U.S. and with European countries. The very next day, January 9, 2014, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a speech in Qom in which he described the U.S. as an "enemy" and "Satan." His words were accompanied by the crowd's chants of "Death to America."[1](For part of Khamenei's speech, see MEMRI TV Clip 4100.)

Below are excerpts from the statements by the two Iranian leaders:

President Rohani Calls For Improving Iran’s Bilateral Relations With The U.S.

On January 8, 2014 Iranian President Rohani published his article "What Iran Wants in 2014" on the project-syndicate.org site declaring his government's intent to improve relations with the U.S. and with European countries:

"We are also considering how to rebuild and improve our bilateral and multilateral relations with European and North American countries on the basis of mutual respect. This requires easing tensions and implementing a comprehensive approach that includes economic ties.

SUPPORT OUR WORK

$500 $250 $100 OTHER CryptoCurrency Apple Pay Paypal Credit Card

"We can begin by avoiding any new strain in relations between Iran and the United States and, at the same time, endeavoring to eliminate inherited tensions that continue to mar relations between our countries. While we may not be able to forget the mistrust and suspicion that have haunted Iranians' thinking about U.S. governments for the last 60 years, now we must focus on the present and look to the future. That means rising above petty politics and leading, rather than following, pressure groups in our respective countries..."[2]

Supreme Leader Khamenei: The U.S. Is "Satan"; Crowd: "Death To America"

The very next day, January 9, 2014, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted in Qom that "Iran's enemies assume that they imposed sanctions and Iran was forced to enter talks. No! We announced previously as well that we would negotiate with this Satan [i.e. the U.S.] on special issues mandated by [our] interests in order to remove [Satan's] evil. One praiseworthy result of the talks was that the American leaders' hostility to Iran and Islam was manifested to everybody... One should not take the enemy's smile seriously."[3]

Supreme Leader Khamenei's statement was reflected in the Friday January 10, 2014 sermon delivered by Ayatollah Mohamad Ali Movahedi Kermani, Tehran's Friday Sermon Leader and a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts: "Thuggish America is the great Satan. The great Satan is also the great Satan in the nuclear negotiations. They have no other interest except for hostility towards Islam. [Supreme Leader] Khamenei said that we must not fall for the deception beneath the enemy's smile. The enemy remains the enemy and one must be wary of him."[4]