Khamenei stands defiant on Iran’s regional military presence
In a speech replete with diatribes against the United States, Iran’s supreme leader defended his country’s controversial regional policies and accused Washington of “inverting the truth.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei claimed that the Islamic Republic’s presence in countries such as Iraq and Syria is not for military control, but rather for “advisory” assistance.
“We are there to support sovereign governments at their own behest,” he said, rejecting the US depiction of Iran as a “destabilizing” factor. Khamenei also criticized the American military for establishing bases in those two countries “without permission” from the hosts.
