A senior Iranian official close to the Supreme Leader recently mocked President Obama’s remarks about the recently signed nuclear accord as "bragging" and accused the U.S. leader of being "under an illusion" about the Islamic Republic’s hate for America, according to translation of Persian-language comments performed by the CIA’s Open Source Center.
Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Asudi, an adviser to the Supreme Leader and official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), lashed out at Obama for claiming that the recently inked nuclear accord would moderate Iran and bring it closer to the United States and other Western countries.
"If Obama opens his ears he can hear the voices of millions of Iranians who shout, ‘Death to America’ on various occasions," such as the Feb.11 anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, which brought hardliners into office, Asudi said, according to Iran’s state-controlled Mehr News Agency.
Obama "seems to be under an illusion, and when someone is under an illusion he does not know what he is saying," the IRGC leader said, adding that Obama has been "bragging" about the deal and Iran’s intentions.
Asudi pushed back against a speech earlier this week by Obama in which he claimed that Iran’s anti-American sentiment exists solely among hardliners and not the entire Iranian population.
Asudi claimed that this is simply not true.
"The people of Iran from any strata or tendency will never forget America's crimes and know that the blood of the Iranian youth and nation is on their [Americans] hands from before the revolution until now," Asudi said, according to the Open Source Center’s translation.
The president’s comments are meant to keep "the Zionists and the Republicans happy," Asudi added, noting that he believes America will violate the nuclear agreement in the near future.
"We are certain that America will break its promise and will not fulfill its commitments. It has proven that it cannot be trusted and we will never trust them," he reportedly said.
The IRGC is set to receive massive relief from economic sanctions under the parameters of the deal.
European Union sanctions on the IRGC Air Force, the IRGC Quds Force, and the IRGC-Air Force Al-Ghadir Missile Command will be waived within eight years, according to the agreement.
Asudi went on to demand that U.S. administration make good on its promise to lift sanctions on Iran.
"The process of lifting the sanctions must be precise so that they won't find an excuse for violating the deal," he said. "The American president's remarks are only bragging for the purpose of gaining votes in the upcoming elections."
Obama’s remarks about the deal are meant for domestic consumption and aimed at soothing fears among Republican and Jewish critics, Asudi claimed.
"Obama thinks he can scare the heroic Iranian nation with threats and make it retreat," he said. "Moreover, he wants to give the green light to the Zionists in order to reduce pressures from them."