Iranian MPs vote to keep ‘Death to America’ slogan despite nuclear deal

The stated reason for the closure was that the décor too closely resembled the American flag and the restaurant could be seen as an example of American influence on Iranian culture.

“The deal has the potential of transforming the relationship (between the US and Iran), it’s not just a transactional agreement”, he said.

Asked about the ayatollah’s defense of the “Death to America” slogan, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters today that she “can’t speak to what Iran is thinking”. According to Khamenei, this was Mossadegh’s primary mistake.

The annual state-organized rally drew greater attention this year as Iranian hard-liners seek to counter moderate President Hassan Rouhani’s outreach to the West. Many fear his efforts will pave the way for the U.S.to dismantle the Islamic republic following the 1979 revolution.

The Iranian parliament passed a bill in October supporting the implementation of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the provision that inspection of military sites under the nuclear deal should be approved by an Iranian security body. About 19,000 were installed, and Iran was to reduce that number to to 6,104 – with only 5,060 of these actually enriching uranium for 10 years.

It was not clear from Salehi’s statement how quickly the decommissioning of the centrifuges was taking place.

The July agreement involves the lifting of sanctions in return for Iran curbing sensitive nuclear activities. Iran also launched a blockade on all USA goods earlier this week.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that exclamations of “Death to America” refer to dislike for American policies-not an actual wish for the destruction of the country.

Yesterday, Iran celebrated the anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis, when regime supporters overtook the American embassy in Tehran and held over 60 American hostages for 444 days.

“The object of the slogan “Death to America” isn’t the American people”, he said, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.

When Iran’s Supreme Leader and thousands of radical Islamists chant “Death to America”, they mean exactly what they are saying.

When the Iran nuclear deal was debated in Washington, the popular Iranian chant ‘Death to America!’ was a regular point of contention.

A few people do that with evil motives, a few others out of folly, Khamenei said. “So the people of Iran were looking at it as a form of entertainment, if you will, and found it laughable”, Rouhani added.

“But… the policies of the United States have been against the national interests of Iranian people [so] it’s understandable that people will demonstrate sensitivity to this issue”, he said.