Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has responded to US President Donald Trump's comments about the 1979 Iran Revolution by urging Trump "to rethink failed US policy after 40 years of wrong choices".
"40 Years of Failure to accept that Iranians will never return to submission. 40 Years of Failure to adjust US policy to reality. 40 Years of Failure to destabilize Iran through blood & treasure," FM Zarif wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
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The remarks came a day after Trump tweeted about 40 years of "corruption, repression and terror", reacting to the 40th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution, which he claimed was followed by "the regime in Iran producing only 40 years of failure".
40 years of corruption. 40 years of repression. 40 years of terror. The regime in Iran has produced only #40YearsofFailure. The long-suffering Iranian people deserve a much brighter future. pic.twitter.com/bA8YGsw9LA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 11 февраля 2019 г.
Trump was echoed by National Security Adviser John Bolton, who published a spate of tweets, in which he argued in particular that "the 40th anniversary of the Iranian regime only serves to highlight four decades of failure and broken promises".
In one tweet, Bolton pledged the US' support to the Iranian people, who he claimed should "determine the direction of their country" after "40 years of failure".
In July 2017, Bolton told an MEK gathering convention that "the outcome of the president’s policy review should be to determine that the Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday".
"The behaviour and the objectives of the regime are not going to change and, therefore, the only solution is to change the regime itself. And that’s why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran!" he claimed.
On the 40th anniversary of the #IslamicRevolution, I can't help but recall @AmbJohnBolton's promise to MEK terrorists: "before 2019 we here will celebrate in Tehran,” and "Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday.” Quit your job, Bolton.
— Sharmine Narwani (@snarwani) 11 февраля 2019 г.
The US officially removed MEK, which describes itself as the biggest rival to the ruling Islamic Republic authorities, from its terrorism blacklist in 2012.
READ MORE: WATCH Celebration of 40th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution in Iran
11 February 2018 marked the 40 anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, during which guerrillas and rebel forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overwhelmed troops loyal to US-backed ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in street clashes in the Iranian capital.
