Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the United States would be “expelled” from Iraq and Syria, two countries where Iran is present in force.
Iran and the United States are sworn enemies and keep accusing and threatening. US forces are operating in Syria, where Iran is allied with Bashar al-Assad's regime, and in Iraq as part of the international anti-Jihadist coalition. Their presence in Iraq, where Iran is also an active power, has been called into question since a spike in tension between Washington and Tehran.
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The United States “will not stay in Iraq or Syria. They must withdraw and will certainly be expelled, " said Ayatollah Khamenei in a virtual meeting with students, according to his official website. "Even the leaders of some American allies (...) hate American statesmen and government. They don't trust them, ” he said.
According to him, this detestation is due to the "warmongering of the Americans, who help bad governments, train terrorists and bring unconditional support to the growing oppression by the Zionist regime" but also to the "terrible American management of the coronavirus".