TEHRAN - The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the U.S. record in the region over the past years proves that it is erroneous to think that the country cannot be surmounted.

Ayatollah Khamenei was making the remarks in a meeting late on Saturday with visiting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Tehran.

“Some people think that America is invincible while this notion is a big error and frequent mistakes made by Americans during the past 15 years have caused them to seriously run aground in the region and be hopeless now,” he said.

The U.S. was caught in the quagmires of Afghanistan and Iraq wars after it invaded the two countries following the 9/11 attacks.

One way to overcome the U.S. pressure is to act foresightedly, the Leader highlighted.

“Steadfastness and rational resistance combined with foresight in the face of pressures will certainly lead to victory,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to the leader.ir.

The Leader said Washington and some its regional allies are using oil as weapons to put pressure on “independent” countries.

“In the past, when some Islamic countries countered the Zionist regime [of Israel] by cutting off their oil [exports], Western countries clamored under the excuse of [condemning] the political use of oil, but unfortunately, the same countries along with some member states of OPEC and some countries in our region, which themselves are harmed by these policies, are currently using oil as a weapon in total coordination with America’s policies.”

The Leader added, “These plots and hostilities can be overcome through an adoption of rational policies and increasing cooperation [among independent countries].”

Emphasizing the need to take advantage of the opportunity offered by Venezuela’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Leader added, “Western countries are not willing for the Non-Aligned Movement to become more active, but independent countries must move in the opposite direction to their [Western countries’] will, and in this case, the future would be certainly better than the past.”

He also said Iran is serious to boost cooperation with Venezuela.

During the meeting, which was attended by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, Maduro expressed satisfaction with his new visit to Iran and meeting with the Leader.

He added, “The late president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, knew Iran and its position well and always mentioned Iran as a powerful country.”

Lauding the Iranian nation’s powerful resistance against the United States’ hostilities, Maduro also said, “The Iranian nation is living in complete peace and security at a time that, unfortunately, many regional countries and Iran's neighbors are suffering from wars, divisions and weaknesses.”

The Venezuelan president then pointed to the sharp decline in oil prices during the past two years and said, “The American imperialism resorted to all kinds of interventions and hostilities against Venezuela, but our nation resisted in the face of this economic war and at present, we are gradually getting out of the economic crisis.”

Maduro then pointed to the presidential election campaigns in the United States, saying, “Regardless of which one of the two main election candidates in the United States become president, the next American government will be in decline, which will be very dangerous for the future of the world.”

The Venezuelan president also described his negotiations with officials of the Islamic Republic as successful. “We must do our best to make [bilateral] agreements bear fruit.”
 
AK/PA