Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Can't Trust 'Evil' Britain and 'Satan' U.S.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the Muslim faithful during Friday prayers at Tehran University, June 2009. He has been accused by the Saudi Crown Prince of being worse than Hitler. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

Iran's top religious leader on Friday said that the Islamic Republic had no desire to cooperate with its primary enemies—the "satan" of the United States and "evil" Britain—on regional issues.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the country would not work with Washington or London on the campaign to defeat the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), despite its involvement in defeating the group in both Syria and Iraq.

He said that the U.S. and Britain would remain Tehran's enemies despite a landmark nuclear deal reached last year with six world powers that lifted a crippling international sanctions regime on the Iranian economy.

"America has continued its enmity towards Iran since (the 1979 Islamic) revolution...It is a huge mistake to trust evil Britain and the Great Satan (the United States)," Khamenei said in a speech that was broadcast live on state television.

"We will not cooperate with America over the regional crisis," he said. "Their aims in the region are 180 degrees opposed to Iran's."

Speaking at a gathering of tens of thousands of Iranians to remember the life of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Khamenei condemned the western nations and their intentions, suggesting that they wish to subdue the Iranian people as a whole.

"They use human rights, terrorism...as pretexts to avoid fulfilling their commitments," Khamenei said. "If we remain strong and united and revolutionary, those who are trying to bully Iran and are against us will not succeed."

The country's religious ruler, a hardliner in comparison to the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani, routinely rails against the U.S., Israel and European nations as being opposed to Iran. Such countries cite concerns about Iran's human rights record, nuclear intentions and regional ambitions.

Tehran is a key backer of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his bid to defeat rebel groups and extremist organizations aiming to end his rule in the country, as well as backing Shiite militias battling ISIS in Iraq in coordination with the forces of the Baghdad government.

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