Khamenei Says Trump Belittles Saudi Rulers And "America Will Lose"

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressing a group of dignitaries in Tehran, November 25, 2018

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in reference to Saudi Arabia, told a gathering on Sunday that the United States belittles those countries in the Middle East that are subordinate to Washington.

He sais, "You have heard that the ranting U.S. president has compared the Saudi leaders to milk cows. If the al-Saud family does not care about this, so be it, but it is an insult to the people of the country and to Muslim nations".

Some media outlets in Iran have claimed that during his presidential campaign Donald Trump compared Saudi leaders to milk cows, but they have presented no evidence to back up this claim.

Khamenei's harsh attack on Saudi Arabia's rulers comes one day after Iran's president Hassan Rouhani made a similar claim during the Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran on Saturday.

Iranian top officials have often referred to Trump's "insults" to Saudi Arabia, while both the U.S. president and Saudi leaders characterize their ties as "strategic" and voiced confidence that bilateral relations have both economic and security benefits for the two countries.

Iran has taken advantage of tensions created by the killing of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in Turkey. Tehran has remained largely silent on the killing itself but uses tensions between Riyadh and Western countries to wage an ideological battle with its regional rival.

In his remarks Khamenei also claimed that forces supported by the Islamic Republic in Palestine and Yemen "will win" and "America and its subordinate will lose".

Iran's top ruler also said that U.S. "policies of threats and sanctions" will be defeated and the "Islamic system" adds to its progress and accomplishments.

Iran's economy has been in chaos in the past one year and because of high inflation millions of Iranians struggle to make ends meet.

SEE ALSO: Why Is Iran Silent About The Khashoggi Case?