Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared on Saturday that the United States “must and will leave” the region, following President Donald Trump’s visit to Gulf Arab nations.“With the determination of the region’s nations, America must and will leave this region,” Khamenei said during a televised broadcast, whilst criticising the US strategy that he claimed aimed to maintain Gulf states’ reliance on American support.The Iranian supreme leader’s comments came a day after President Trump wrapped up a high-profile Gulf tour focused on strengthening alliances and securing multi-trillion dollar investments.During his visit, Trump criticised Iranian leadership’s regional activities and issued warnings about reducing Iran’s oil exports to zero.“Iran’s leaders have focused on stealing their people’s wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad,” Trump stated at a Saudi investment forum on Tuesday.According to news agency AFP, Khamenei, without addressing specific statements, deemed some of Trump’s comments as “source of shame” and “not even worth responding to.”“The level of those comments is so low that they are a source of shame for the speaker himself and a cause for embarrassment for the American people,” he added.Khamenei accused Trump of dishonesty regarding American influence in establishing peace in Gaza. “Trump claimed he wants to use power to achieve peace, he lied,” Khamenei noted.“He and the American officials, and American administrations, have used power to support the massacre in Gaza, to ignite wars wherever they could, and to back their own mercenaries,” he added.Additionally, Khamenei criticised Trump’s approach towards Gulf Arab states, which he believed perpetuated their dependence on the United States.“The president of America proposed a model to these Arab countries, a model which according to his own words, implies that without the United States, these countries would not be able to last for even 10 days,” the Iranian leader stated.“Even now, through their dealings, their behaviour, and their proposals, the Americans continue to promote and impose this very same model, a model designed to make these countries dependent, so they cannot exist without US support,” Khamenei asserted.“This model is undoubtedly a failed one,” he added.
