Daish Brainchild of US: Ayatollah

Tehran: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei slammed the United States on Thursday, accusing it of trying to undermine Islamic Republic. 

Top leader warned that enemies are resorting to any means at their disposal, including cyberspace and sanctions, to undermine the Iranian nation's faith in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"[T]he US government is the cruelest and most merciless system in the world, which is even worse than the savage Daesh [ISIS] members," Ayatollah Khamenei said, as quoted by Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. 

Supreme leader then accused Washington of creating ISIS and asserted that the murderous terrorist organization probably received training from American private military companies. 

Ayatollah Khamenei made the comments in a meeting on Thursday with the commanders and personnel of Iran's Air Force and the country's Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base.

Ayatollah noted that apart from the cyberspace, the enemy resorts to sanctions to have impact on the Iranian people's lives, but they have so far failed to weaken their faith in the Revolution as the nation has remained vigilant in the face of such schemes.

Despite all the enmities, the Islamic Revolution is "alive and growing," Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

He drew attention to the upcoming nationwide rallies marking the 39th anniversary of the Revolution, saying there will be a stronger turnout this year against the backdrop of recent hostile positions of US officials against the Islamic Republic.

"Given the nonsense statements by some US officials, the [Iranian] people feel that the enemy is waiting in ambush for aggression and hostility," Ayatollah Khamenei said. "This year, the participation of people will be more vigorous than ever and everyone will take part, God willing."

US oppression against Palestine, Yemen

Iran leader also described the 70-year-long US oppression against the Palestinian nation and its support for the Saudi killing of the Yemenis as obvious examples of the US oppression.

"Yemen's infrastructure and the oppressed people of the country are being bombarded daily by US allies with US weapons, but the US government does not protest or pay heed and instead shamelessly makes the baseless claim of Iran sending missiles by showcasing several metal parts," he said.

"While the people of Yemen are under a siege, how is it possible to send missiles?" he asked.

On November 4, 2017 a missile fired from Yemen targeted King Khalid International Airport near the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

In December, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley presented a charred tube and other material that she claimed were from the Iranian-made ballistic missile. She claimed that the "evidence" proved Iran's violation of United Nations resolutions which banned the transfer of weapons to Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah fighters.

Both Iran and the Houthis have strongly denied the claim. 

Moreover, a panel appointed by the UN Security Council said that it had seen no evidence to support the claims that missiles had been transferred to the Houthis by external sources.

Corruption

The Leader then turned to the current domestic issues facing the country, stressing that "corruption must be fought against."

"But it will be difficult to eradicate it," Ayatollah Khamenei added. "It will not be easy to confront those benefitting from corruption. But this confrontation is necessary to carry out."

"This Revolution is a popular one, and therefore, the people must be prioritized in all of the country's plans and agendas," he stressed.

"People are protesting against corruption and discrimination," he said. "Our nation will withstand many hardships but they will not remain silent toward corruption and discrimination."

He further called on officials of the three branches of the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary to follow up on the people's demands and complaints in earnest.