Zarif's Reaction to Trump's Attack on the Iranian Government in Annual Congressional Speech

Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, reacted to Donald Trump's statements about Iran during the annual congressional address, stating that Washington supports 'dictators, butchers, and extremists' in the Middle East. On Wednesday morning, February 6, Tehran time, Trump described the Iranian government as the 'primary state sponsor of terrorism' and a 'radical regime,' asserting that his administration is 'determined' to confront this government. Trump referred to the Islamic Republic as a 'corrupt dictatorship' and mentioned that he withdrew from the 'disastrous' nuclear deal to prevent Iran from obtaining 'nuclear weapons.' He also stated, 'We will not take our eyes off a government that chants 'Death to America' and threatens the genocide of Jews.' In response, Zarif tweeted that Iranians, including our Jewish compatriots, are celebrating the 40th anniversary of progress despite U.S. pressures, right at the time when Trump has once again leveled accusations against us during his annual speech. Zarif's reference is to the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution in Iran, which American officials had criticized extensively even before Wednesday's speech, with the U.S. State Department describing these four decades as '40 years of failure' for the Islamic Republic. Zarif continued in his tweet that 'U.S. hostility has pushed it to support dictators, butchers, and extremists; whose only outcome for our region has been destruction.' The Iranian Foreign Minister did not name these 'dictators, butchers, and extremists.' The U.S. presidential address known as the 'State of the Union' is held annually in the U.S. Congress, where the president usually discusses achievements, priorities, and outlines of his agenda.