TEHRAN – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that the Iranian nation will “slap” U.S. authorities in the face, responding to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who said on Wednesday that Washington’s policy toward Iran is driven by relying on regime change in the country.  

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks while hosting for iftar (fast breaking) a number of families whose sons or fathers have been martyred in the fight against terrorists in Syria and Iraq as well as those whose family members have been martyred while guarding national borders against terrorists and hooligans.

“Since the victory of the Revolution, U.S. statesmen have always sought to change the establishment of the Islamic Republic but they won’t manage to slap the Iranian nation, but it is the Iranian nation who will slap them,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

Tillerson, speaking on Wednesday in a hearing on the 2018 State Department budget before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “Our policy towards Iran is to push back on this hegemony, contain their ability to develop obviously nuclear weapons, and to work toward support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government. Those elements are there, certainly as we know.”

Leader says: “Since the victory of the Revolution, U.S. statesmen have always sought to change the establishment of the Islamic Republic but they won’t manage to slap the Iranian nation, but it is the Iranian nation who will slap them.”

The Leader also branded the remarks by U.S. officials as “gibberish”, noting “the uttering of gibberish by the U.S. president is not a new issue because the Islamic establishment has faced various plots since its inception but the ill-wishers of the Iranian nation have not succeeded to do a damn thing.”

He further lambasted Washington for failing to know the Iranian nation, emphasizing “these inexperienced individuals yet to know the Iranian nation and officials, and when they receive a slap in the face, they will then find out what law and order is.”   

Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the current U.S. administration under “novice and inexperienced” Donald Trump, who has shown a very hostile face toward Iran.

"Do not look at the bluster of this guy who has just come [to office as president] in America," the Leader said, according to Press TV.

The Leader likened Trump administration officials to “nascent hooligans who scare people by brandishing their knives until somebody punches them in the mouth.” 

The Leader further accused enemies of the Islamic Republic of seeking to rob the nation of its sublime values such as “martyrdom, jihad, patience, and the resistance of the families of the martyred.”

“These concepts and values are the main factors of preserving the Islamic Republic and its might” he underscored. 

The Leader added, “Everyone, whether the enemies, sincere allies and friends whose hearts throb at times, should know that the Islamic Republic is standing firm and with absolute power.”

AK/PA