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Iranian FM Strikes Back at Trump, Bolton Over "40 Years of Failure" Remarks

On Monday, Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of the country's Islamic Revolution, during which US-backed ruler Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was ousted and revolutionaries led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took power in Tehran.
Sputnik

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. 

READ MORE: Iran's Revolution Helped It Break From Neocolonialism, 'Gain Real Independence'

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".

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".

Iran Presented New Missiles During Islamic Revolution Celebrations - Reports
Journalist Mikey Kay recalled in this vein that Bolton has spoken at least eight times at rallies organised by MEK (Mojahedin-e Khalq), an Iranian dissident group which calls for regime change in Iran and is known to pay up to $50,000 per speech.

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.

 

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.

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