Iran�s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is defending �Death to America� chants that are standard fare at anti-U.S. rallies across Iran but says the chanting is aimed at America�s leaders and not its people.
Khamenei�s website on Friday quoted him as saying the chant means �death to U.S. leaders, death to (President Donald) Trump and John Bolton and (Mike) Pompeo.�
He says the Iranian people �will not stop saying �Death to America� as long as the U.S. acts malicious� toward Iran.
Khamenei was referring to Trump�s State of the Union address this week in which the American president, among other things, said: �We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America.�
Khameini�s remarks come as Iran marks the 40th anniversary of its Islamic Revolution.
(AP)
