TEHRAN (Iran News) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei says it is weird that some still worship the US as their idol despite the country’s election fiasco, paralyzed economy, and human rights records.

“Today we can see what that big idol has turned into. This is their democracy. This is their election fiasco. This is their human rights: they kill a Black person once in every couple of hours or days, and the murderer is not prosecuted. These are ‘American values’ ​​that today are ridiculed. This is their paralyzed economy. The U.S. economy is truly paralyzed,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a televised speech on Friday.

“More weirdly, some still worship America,” the Leader added.

The Leader said the result of U.S. presence in Iran [before the 1979 Revolution] was economic and scientific poverty and corruption.

“Some think if we reconcile and interact with the U.S., [Iran] will turn into a paradise,” the Leader added.

Ayatollah Khamenei further noted the Americans admit that their interests are secured by creating instability in the region.

“The U.S. sees its interests in regional instability under the current circumstances unless it is the dominant power in the region,” he added.

“This is what they have admitted. A famous expert of one of these American think tanks clearly said that ‘we are not after stability in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon’. The main issue is not whether instability is needed in these countries. Rather it is how to create that instability. Once with Daesh and once with the 2009 sedition (post-election riots in Iran) or the things they do in the region,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

The Leader stressed that Iran stood against the U.S. bid to create instability in the country.

“In 2009, the U.S. wanted to make Iran unstable. But that happened to them in 2020-21. You saw the people who breached the US Congress. The Americans sought to do the same in Iran. They wanted to create chaos and trigger a civil war,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader expressed his opposition to the import of COVID-19 vaccines produced by the U.S. and Britain.

“I have already said it to government officials, and now announce it publicly. The import of American and British vaccines is prohibited,” the Leader noted.

“Had the Americans managed to produce a vaccine, they would not have faced such a mess today in their own country. In one day, some 4,000 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S.,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“I really don’t trust them. Sometimes they want to test the vaccine on other nations,” the Leader added.

He also noted that he is not optimistic about France as the country was involved in the infected blood scandal in the early 1990s.

The Leader stressed, however, that the Iranian government is allowed to supply the COVID vaccine from other reliable sources.

He also hailed the domestically-developed Iranian coronavirus vaccine, calling it a source of pride and honor, and stressing that this should not be denied. The Leader noted that the human trials of the Iranian vaccine were conducted in one case and they succeeded.

“This should not be denied … The vaccine has gone under human trials. God willing a better version will also be developed in Iran. This is a source of pride and dignity,” the Leader noted.

Ayatollah Khamenei further pointed out that Iran is in no rush for the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“Our rational demand is the lifting of the sanctions. This is the Iranian nation’s right which has been violated. They are duty-bound to do that …. If the sanctions are lifted, then the US return to the JCPOA will mean something,” the Leader said.

He said the issue of compensation will be raised in the next stage.

“But if the sanctions are not lifted, their return to the JCPOA may be even to our detriment,” he added.

The Leader said the recent move by the Parliament and the administration to stop the implementation of nuclear commitments was a totally logical, rational, and acceptable decision.

“When the other side does not implement any of its commitments, there is no point for Iran to fulfill all its commitments,” he said.

However, the Leader noted, if they return to their commitments, we will do the same.

The Leader further pointed to Iran’s regional presence and said, “Our Establishment is duty-bound to behave in a way that its friends in the region are reinforced.”

“This is our duty. Our presence is meant to strengthen our friends. We should not do anything to weaken those loyal to the Islamic Republic in the region,” he noted.

Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran’s presence creates stability, and that was proved on the issue of fighting Daesh terrorism and the like.

“Therefore, Iran’s regional presence is definite, and will continue to exist,” he added.

He also referred to the Western opposition to Iran’s reinforcement of its defense power, and said, “The Islamic Republic system is now allowed to keep the country’s defense power at a [low] level that an incompetent person like Saddam would dare to bomb our cities.”

“Today our defense power is so much that the enemies have to take into account Iran’s capabilities in their calculations. When our missile can shoot down the intrusive American aerial vehicle that had entered our airspace, and when our missiles can pound the Ain al-Assad airbase in such a way, the enemy has to count on these capabilities of Iran in its military decisions,” the Leader said.

“We have no right to leave our country defenseless. We should not do something that emboldens the enemy, and makes us unable to respond,” Ayatollah Khamenei added.