From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Khamenei says US, European presence in Mideast is source of ‘conflicts, wars’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slams the presence of American and European nations in the Middle East in his first public remarks since Tehran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel.
Khamenei says their presence is a source of “conflicts, wars, concerns and enmities” but made no mention of the missile attack the night before.
“Regional nations can manage themselves and… they will live together in peace,” Khamenei is quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
He says Iran is hopeful of getting “rid of the enemies’ evil” and also urged Western nations to “cut their badness.”
Iran has long seen the US troop presence on its doorstep as a threat and demanded their evacuation from neighboring Iraq and elsewhere in the region.
