Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the U.S. the "Great Satan" and threatened to terrorize and eventually destroy Israel hours before Senate Democrats blocked a Republican resolution to reject a six-nation nuclear accord with Iran.
In a series of tweets published Wednesday morning, Khamenei charged that it doesn't matter what Israel thinks about the long-term prospects for the controversial Iran deal, because, "God willing," the Jewish state will no longer exist in 25 years.
According to CNN, the Iranian leader also posted a picture of a man stepping on a sidewalk painting of the Israeli flag and emphasized that until then, "struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists."
In continuing his Twitter rant, Khamenei also directed his insults toward the United States, calling the country the "great Satan" and accusing government leaders of being duplicitous in their negotiations.
"We allowed negotiation with U.S. only on nuclear issue for certain reasons, in other areas we did not and will not allow negotiations with U.S.," he said. "[The] Iranian nation did expel this Great Satan; we barred their direct access and now we must not allow their indirect access and infiltration."
On Thursday, Senate Democrats delivered a major victory to President Obama when they blocked a Republican resolution to reject a six-nation nuclear accord with Iran.
Next week, the president will be free to start lifting U.S. sanctions to implement the agreement negotiated by Iran, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia. The controversial accord seeks to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions.
In the past, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly opposed to the nuclear deal, arguing that Iran will use the billions from sanctions relief to threaten Israel's security.
Speaking on Thursday, Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to the deal and said the Iranian leader's taunts leave its supporters with no "room for illusion."
"He has made it clear that the U.S. is the Great Satan and that Iran intends to destroy the state of Israel. This will not happen. Israel is a strong country and it will become even stronger," Netanyahu said in a statement. "However, the conclusion that arises from the remarks of the tyrant in Tehran is that all responsible countries must cooperate in order to stop Iran's terrorism and aggression which, to my regret, will only increase as a result of the agreement."
Iran is listed by the State Department as a "state sponsor of terrorism," funding militant groups around the world that have targeted the U.S. and its allies, including Palestinian terror groups. CNN notes that the Obama administration has acknowledged Iran's terrorist activities, but claims that Israel is safer under the agreement because an Iran with a nuclear weapon would be far more dangerous.
Numerous Christian and political leaders have also voiced their opposition to the nuclear deal and expressed their support for Israel.
In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, evangelist Franklin Graham said is "hard to believe" the Obama administration is even considering such negotiations, particularly as we remember the tragedy of 9/11.
"[Iran has] been designated as a sponsor of terrorism by our own State Department since 1984!" Graham wrote. "I can't believe that our president and members of Congress who support this are so blind to the truth. Making a deal with Iran is like making a deal with the devil."
Speaking at a rally held on Capitol Hill on Wednesday by the conservative group Tea Party Patriots, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz warned that the passing of the bill will result in the Obama administration becoming the "world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism."
"Over 100 billion dollars will flow directly to Iran to the Ayatollah Khamenei," he said, "And billions of those dollars will go directly to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to the Houthis, to radical Islamic terrorists across the world and those Jihadists will use those billions to murder Americans, to murder Israelis, to murder Europeans."
According to a recent Pew Research poll, 49 percent of Americans disapprove of the proposed deal, versus 21 percent who approve and 30 percent who do not know.
"Over the past six weeks, the share approving of the agreement has fallen 12 percentage points (from 33% to 21%), while disapproval has held fairly steady," noted Pew.
"Among those aware of the Iran deal, the share approving of the agreement has declined 11 percentage points since July, while the percentage disapproving has risen nine points."
