‘Keep dreaming…’: Iran’s Khamenei mocks Trump’s claims about Iran nuclear program, calls Gaza peace efforts as…

The back-and-forth exchange of hostile remarks between Donald Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei raises fears of another escalation between Tehran and Washington over the alleged Iran nuclear program.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a stern response to US President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Iran nuclear program, mocking Washington’s claims that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities.

What did Ayatollah Khamenei say?

In a social media post, Ayatollah Khamenei mocked Trump for his claims about destroying Iranian nuclear program, and also criticized the US President’s peace efforts in the Gaza Strip as “empty rhetoric”.

“The President of United States boasts to have destroyed Iran’s nuclear program. If Trump thinks so, that’s great; let him keep dreaming,” Khamenei wrote on Monday. He was responding to Donald Trump’s recent comments about Iran’s nuclear program, where he claimed that US had destroyed Iranian nuclear facilities when it bombed these sites earlier this year.

Why Khamenei criticized Trump’s Israel visit?

Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei also criticized Donald Trump’s recent visit to Israel and his efforts to establish peace in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, calling the US President’s Israel trip a “hollow attempt to boost morale of the demoralized Jewish regime.”

“Regarding the US president’s visit, I believe he went there to make empty promises and boost the morale of the demoralized Jewish regime. They are completely demoralized by the setback Israel suffered in the 12-day war with Iran,” the Iranian Supreme Leader claimed.

Earlier, Trump had threatened to launch another attack on Iran if it continues developing nuclear weapons, and claimed that the Islamic Republic was battling for its existence.  “Today, Iran is trying to save its existence. Two weeks ago, news broke that Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons. I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We will destroy it with an attack before that happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

US-Iran tensions

The back-and-forth exchange of hostile remarks between Donald Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei raises fears of another escalation between Tehran and Washington over the alleged Iran nuclear program. In June this year, US B-2 stealth bombers dropped bunker busting bombs on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Later, Washington claimed it had completely destroyed these sites, even as these claims were denied by Iran.

The US and Israel allege that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes.