John Kerry on Iran: Supreme leader’s remarks ‘disturbing’

By Nick Gass

The Secretary of State said he would take the comments for what they are.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s speech last Friday vowing that his country’s policy against the “arrogant” United States would not change was “disturbing,” Secretary of State John Kerry says.
The address came three days after Iran and six world powers reached a landmark agreement on the country’s nuclear program.

In an interview Monday with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, as quoted by the network on Tuesday, Kerry said he would take the comments for what they are.
“I don’t know how to interpret it at this point in time, except to take it at face value, that that’s his policy. But I do know that often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different,” he said. “If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling, and we’ll have to wait and see.”
According to reports, the podium where Khamenei spoke on Friday featured the Persian-language message reading, “We will trample upon America,” with the English phrase “We Defeat the United States” below it.
“Our policy toward the arrogant U.S. government won’t change at all,” Khamenei said in the speech, which marked the end of the Ramadan holiday. “We have no negotiations with America about various global and regional issues. We have no negotiations on bilateral issues.”
But he also hailed the nuclear agreement as an Iranian triumph, even as he vowed to oppose U.S. designs on the region.
“We will always support the oppressed Palestinian nation, Yemen, Syrian government and people, Iraq, and oppressed Bahraini people, and also the honest fighters of Lebanon and Palestine,” he said, while reiterating his support for Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah. “Americans can support the child-killing Zionist government, and call Hezbollah terrorist? How can one interact, negotiate, or come to an agreement with such a policy?”
Kerry, who will travel to the Gulf region in early August to talk about the nuclear deal with skeptical leaders, said the U.S. commitment to ensuring regional security is no joke.
“We are not kidding when we talk about the importance of pushing back against extremism, against support for terrorism and proxies who are destabilizing other countries. It’s unacceptable,” he said, according to the report.