Tehran 0
18 February 2020

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei characterised the statements by senior U.S. officials about election integrity in Iran as “gibberish” and assessed that their intention was “to have an impact on the [21 February parliamentary] election. They want to make people disappointed and to make them lose hope in the ballot box”. Khamenei also commented on U.S. presence in the region by stating that “there are tens of American military bases in different countries surrounding us. However… these bases are useless for America and useless for those miserable people who pay for them and have hope in them [for protection]”.

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