Iranian President offers 'true meaning' of 'death to America'
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) has used the phrase, which has also broken out during rallies and speeches in Iran. 'Yes, it will happen. Death to America will happen,' Khamenei declared in 2022. Khamenei once again endorsed the chant in May, on the eve of nuclear talks with the U.S. that came before Israel began its bombing campaign targeting Iran's missiles, nuclear sites, and nuclear scientists. 'Your judgment is right,' Khamenei told a crowd cheering the slogan in Tehran. 'Americans support Israel's crimes,' he added.
Pezeshkian, in full spin mode, told Carlson that Iran has never invaded another country in 200 years. Carlson held a solemn expression but did not interrupt as he attempted to dispute the notion that Iranians wanted to harm Americans. 'Have you ever heard [of] an Iranian killing an American? Have you heard that? Or a terrorist that was Iranian and he carried out a terrorist attack against the Americans? And no, it was your president who confessed that the Americas created the ISIS in our region and they were responsible for this wrong image that is portrayed of religion of the Muslims in the world.'
Iran-backed Hezbollah was responsible for the 1983 Beirut bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks, according to U.S. intelligence, and U.S. prosecutors said the Iranian government backed an attempt to kill President Donald Trump last year. But Pezeshkian repeatedly disputed the chant is not aimed at 'the American people or officials.' Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, dismissed the Iranian president's explanation in a post on social media. 'They've killed more than 1,000 Americans. They fund terrorist groups all around the world. They tried to kill President Trump,' Cotton said.
Pezeshkian also alleged that Israel, with U.S. support, tried to assassinate him. 'Yes, they did try and acted accordingly but they failed,' he said. 'It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting … they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,' he said, speaking in his native Farsi, without elaborating on any evidence.
Israel killed multiple Iranian nuclear scientists during its air campaign last month. Trump at one point appeared to threaten the safety of the ayatollah when he knew of his whereabouts. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that 'the administration continues to be in contact, both directly and indirectly, with Iranians,' after Trump said Sunday he was working on a potential permanent deal with Iran.
The president had previously said an agreement wasn't necessary, after Iran and Israel agreed to cease 12 days of fighting after the U.S. hit Iranian nuclear facilities. 'The president is always interested in peace and diplomacy,' Leavitt said.
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Starvation has torn through the devastated enclave, killing dozens of children, Palestinian health officials say. In recent weeks, catastrophic levels of hunger have seen the first hunger-related deaths spiral - something experts and UN officials say is a result of Israel's blockade on aid entering Gaza has pushed the strip to the brink of famine. Israel says the hunger crisis is because of a 'man-made shortage' of food which is 'engineered by Hamas', Palestinian health officials say the IDF has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians since its bombardment began on 7 October 2023, soon after Hamas-led attacks killed around 1,200 Israelis and saw 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. For the few on the Israeli left who have refused service on ideological grounds, the ongoing destruction in Gaza has added an unique complexity to their daily lives. 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My social circle these days is made up of people who are with me in this sort of activism, so I have a community, but it's disconnected from the rest of society.' Yona and Itamar are tentative in their hopes for any significant change in public mood in Israel. They both note that interest in the refuser movement is growing, but Yona believes that almost everyone who could have refused would have done so by now already. 'I don't know what could change for them to stop showing up and fighting,' she says. Instead, the young activists hope that those who are already serving in the army will turn their backs on it. Itamar speaks of a friend who serves in the IDF and is 'not a leftist'. He says the friend recently messaged into a group chat: 'I don't know how to say it, but it's started to look like we're doing genocide.' Yona also has friends in the IDF who tell her that they lack the bravery to be a refuser. 'I feel for them, but really, they should just get out of that. It's not an easy process, but it's not a complicated decision.' But despite being part of an ostracised group in Israeli society, losing a number of friends and spending a six-month stint in prison, Itamar wishes he could do more. He says: 'I just feel that I don't do enough, even though almost all my life has been for stopping [occupation]. I just don't know how.'
