Iran's supreme leader has called Saudi Arabia’s leaders "fools", "worthless" and "lowlifes" for allying themselves with the United States and said their policies will ultimately lead to their "certain downfall."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 27 called the Saudis "milk cows for the Americans" after they struck a $110 billion defense and weapons deal with the United States during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit on May 20.
He said they are "fools and lowlifes" who believe that they can win the friendship of the enemies of Islam with money, Radio Farda's monitoring of Iranian state TV shows.
Khamenei was speaking at a religious ceremony marking the first day of Ramadan.
He added the Saudi leaders are "an inept and worthless bunch" who have the fate of a segment of the Muslim world in their hands.
Interestingly, major Iranian news agencies, such as IRNA and Fars, omitted the words "idiot" and "lowlife" from their reporting. Customarily, Iranian agencies quote ayatollah Khamanei's official website, when reporting on Supreme Leader's speeches and statements.
Khamenei's official website mentions the word "fools" but does not mention "lowlife".
Radio Farda's monitoring of Iranian TV broadcasts shows that Iran's Supreme Leader used all three words describing the Saudi leaders.
"They act cordially toward the enemies of Islam while having the opposite behavior toward the Muslim people of Bahrain and Yemen," Khamenei told a religious gathering marking the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, as reported by his Twitter account.
"They will face certain downfall," he told the event.
Khamenei’s comments came on the same day that newly reelected President Hassan Rohani called for improved relations with Gulf Arab countries during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar.
"We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Rohani as telling Qatari Sheikh Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rohani told the emir.
Although Rohani recently won reelection by a wide margin in the May 19 presidential election, Khamenei, as supreme ruler, holds ultimate power when deciding strategic affairs.
