Blake Hall
In an interview scheduled to air Sunday night (60 Minutes), Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says that those icky, unforgivable “death to America!” chants in Tehran aren’t personal. Whatever that means.
He said the raucous, impassioned public ritual — that goes on every Friday, apparently — was in response for past Washington policies. Not the current ones, though? Of course, many believe Rouhani to be nothing more than figurehead, saying the one behind the wheel — truly — is their religious and “supreme” leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is very in line with the United States suffering a slow, painful demise.
More from Agence France-Presse:
Mr Rouhani, seen as a moderate reformer by the standards of the Islamic republic, attempted to reassure his CBS interviewer Steve Kroft and the wider audience.
“This slogan that is chanted is not a slogan against the American people. Our people respect the American people,” he insisted in an extract from the interview released by CBS.
“The Iranian people are not looking for war with any country.
“But, at the same time, the policies of the United States have been against the national interests of Iranian people — it’s understandable that people will demonstrate sensitivity to this issue.
In case you haven’t seen the “ritual” before, a little taste is included below. Fair warning, however: it’s not the easiest thing to stomach. Kind of like eating a raw hamburger or drinking swill.
Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=32&v=tuE75aWqieQ