Tehran - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has followed the lead
of Iran's supreme leader in speaking out against US President Donald
Trump, calling him a "global agitator" and accusing him of worsening
the situation in several regions of the world.
"In the past two years, he and the American government have only
brought about unrest," Rouhani said in a speech in the south-eastern
city of Zahedan on Saturday. There are more crises now than there
were prior to the start of Trump's term, Rouhani said.
"Not only in Iran, but also in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in
Afghanistan - he has brought about more trouble everywhere," Rouhani
said in comments carried by broadcaster Chabar.
On Friday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called Trump
and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "clowns" while leading prayers
in Tehran for the first time in eight years.
Trump responded to the comments on Twitter with a quip that Khamenei
had "not been so Supreme lately."
"Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should
be very careful with his words!" Trump wrote.
The verbal spat between Iranian leadership and the US president is
the result of months of tension over the crumbling Iran nuclear deal,
which the United States withdrew from in May 2018, and the targeted
killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike at
Baghdad International Airport on January 3.