Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responds to US president decertifying nuclear deal, saying Tehran will not violate agreement first 
 
 Iran’s supreme leader has said his country will not take heed of “rants and whoppers of a foul-throated US president”, in a speech that also made clear that Tehran will not be the first to violate the nuclear deal. 
 
 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first reaction since Donald Trump decertified the Iran deal, said on Wednesday that “we will not tear up the nuclear deal so long as the other side has not torn it up, but if they do, we will cut it in pieces”. 
 
 The 78-year-old ayatollah told a gathering of students in Tehran that the US was angry because Iran had foiled its plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. 
 
 “I don’t want to waste our time to respond to the rants and whoppers of the foul-throated president of the United States,” he said, according to the transcript of his speech posted on his official website. 
 
 “The US is the agent of the international Zionism, it was the US that created Daesh [Arabic acronym for Islamic State] and Takfiri movements [Iran’s terminology for Sunni extremist groups].” 
 
 Khamenei said the US was infuriated by Iran’s role in fighting Isis. “They are angry because the Islamic Republic has foiled their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt,” he said. 
 
 “Everyone should know that once again America will receive a slap in its mouth and will be defeated by the people of Iran.” 
 
 
 
 Khamenei was reacting to Trump’s vituperative speech on Friday, during which he announced he was decertifying Tehran’s compliance under the nuclear accord, a move that could lead to the end of the agreement. 
 
 “Based on the factual record I have put forward, I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification. We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout,” Trump said at the White House. 
 
 Despite Trump’s move, European states involved in two years of negotiations that led to the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, known as the joint comprehensive plan of action, has remained adamant that the agreement should remain in force. 
 
 The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said this week that she would be travelling to Washington in November to reiterate Europe’s message on the deal. High-level officials from the EU have been lobbying the US Congress to preserve the deal. 
 
 Trump said this week that terminating the deal was a “very real possibility” and that Iranian leaders had a “very modified” tone in their reaction to his speech. 
 
 His decision does not immediately mean that the agreement is in jeopardy. He has asked Congress to add a series of amendments to the deal for a more stringent implementation. 
 
 Iran and Europe have said renegotiating was not possible and that the agreement was multilateral and the US could not unilaterally change it. But the US’s influence over the financial market limits European leverage. 
 
 “The European governments have affirmed [their stance] on the agreement and have condemned the statement made by the American president,” Khamenei said. 
 
 “We welcome this but it is not enough for [Europe] just to say that they will not tear it up. The nuclear agreement is in their interest. Europe should stand up against [US’s] practical measures and they should refrain commenting about our defensive capabilities,” he said referring to EU’s repeated concerns over Tehran’s missile programme. ||||| Russian President Vladimir Putin steps down from his plane on his arrival to Mehrabad Airport, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Putin arrived in Iran for trilateral talks with Tehran and Azerbaijan.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Russian President Vladimir Putin steps down from his plane on his arrival to Mehrabad Airport, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Putin arrived in Iran for trilateral talks with Tehran and Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) (Associated Press) 
 
 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday strongly backed Iran and its nuclear deal with world powers, saying Moscow opposed "any unilateral change" to the accord after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to re-certify it. 
 
 Putin made the comments on a one-day trip to Tehran for trilateral talks between Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, a meeting largely focused on improving road and rail links to the neighboring countries on the Caspian Sea. 
 
 However, the nuclear deal loomed large as Putin met with both Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who easily won re-election this year after securing the atomic deal, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters. 
 
 "We oppose any unilateral change in the multilateral nuclear deal," Putin said while meeting Khamenei, according to a statement from the supreme leader's office. "We oppose linking Iran's nuclear program with other issues including defensive issues." 
 
 Moscow has stood by Tehran while Trump has refused to re-certify the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, including Russia. The other parties to the accord — Britain, China, France, Germany and the European Union — have also urged Trump to stay in the deal. 
 
 The U.S. Congress now will make a decision regarding the 2015 nuclear deal, in which Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In recent days, lawmakers have targeted Iran with new sanctions over its ballistic missile program, which wasn't included in the deal but which American officials say violates the spirit of the accord. 
 
 Khamenei praised Putin's "strong" character. 
 
 "Because of this reason, it is possible to have logical dialogue and cooperation with Russia as a big power about big jobs that require determination and effort," the supreme leader said. 
 
 Russia and Iran have a complicated history. Many still remember how Russia, alongside Britain, invaded and occupied Iran during World War II to secure oil fields and Allied supply lines. 
 
 But while Britain withdrew, Russia refused to leave, sparking the first international rebuke by the nascent U.N. Security Council in 1946. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Iran allowed refugees into the country and backed mujahedeen rebel fighters — as did the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. 
 
 While Gulf Arab states sought the protection of the U.S. after the 1991 Gulf War, Iran tilted toward Russia. Russia has supplied surface-to-air missiles to Iran, and helped it to build its first nuclear power plant, in the southern port city of Bushehr, which went online in 2011. The two countries are now partnering in the construction of two more nuclear reactors at the site. 
 
 Russia and Iran have both provided crucial support to President Bashar Assad's forces in the Syrian civil war, something Rouhani praised during his meeting with Putin. 
 
 "Iranian and Russian cooperation has had a great impact in fighting terrorism in the region," Rouhani said, according to a statement from his office. "The joint cooperation and consultations are very important in the final stages too." 
 
 Iran allowed Russia access to its air bases last year to bomb targets in Syria. But that struck a nerve in Iran, whose constitution bars foreign militaries from having bases in the country. 
 
 Russia has reached out to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, promising weapons systems and other investments to the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom. That too has raised eyebrows in Shiite Iran, which is the kingdom's Mideast rival. 
 
 Prior to Putin's arrival on his third trip to Iran, Russia's armed forces chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, met with his Iranian counterpart, Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and discussed defense and security issues, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday, without elaborating. 
 
 Tehran-based political analyst Saeed Leilaz said Putin's visit to Tehran could lead to more investment in the oil industry and other infrastructure projects that "may encourage European and Chinese and even American companies to enter the Iranian market." 
 
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 Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. ||||| ANKARA (Reuters) - The United States is Iran’s “number one enemy” and Tehran will never succumb to Washington’s pressure over a multinational nuclear deal, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Thursday. 
 
 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves as he arrives to deliver a speech in Tehran, Iran, November 2, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS 
 
 U.S. President Donald Trump broke ranks with other major powers last month by refusing to formally certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. Under that deal, most sanctions on Iran were lifted in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear work. 
 
 “The American president’s foolish remarks against our people show the depth of America’s hostility towards the entire Iranian nation,” Iran’s top authority Khamenei told a group of students. 
 
 “America is the number one enemy of our nation.” 
 
 Since the deal was reached in 2015, Khamenei has continued to denounce the United States publicly, suggesting that antagonism between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran would not abate because of the accord. 
 
 Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties shortly after the revolution, when hardline students took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Iran will mark the anniversary of the American embassy seizure on Saturday. 
 
 Trump has called the nuclear agreement, which was reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, “the worst deal ever negotiated” and has adopted a harsh approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. 
 
 Washington has imposed new sanctions on Iran over its missile activity, calling on Tehran not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear bombs. Iran says it has no such plans and its missile program is solely for defense purposes. 
 
 The deal’s other signatories, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, and the European Union say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel an international accord enshrined by a U.N. resolution. 
 
 Iranian officials have repeatedly said that Tehran would stick to the nuclear accord as long as the other signatories respected it. But it has warned about the consequences if the deal falls apart. 
 
 “We will never accept their bullying over the nuclear deal ... Americans are using all the wickedness to damage the result of the nuclear talks,” Khamenei said to chants of “Death to America” by students. 
 
 “Any retreat by Iran will make America more blatant and impudent ... Resistance is the only option.” 
 
 Trump also accuses Iran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East. Iran rejects that and in turn blames the growth of militant groups such as Islamic State on the policies of the United States and its regional allies. 
 
 Shi’ite-dominated Iran and its regional arch-rival, U.S.-backed Sunni Saudi Arabia, are involved in proxy wars across the region, backing opposite sides in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
– After President Trump refused to recertify Iran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it was a "waste [of] time to respond to the rants and whoppers of the foul-throated president of the United States." But the country's supreme leader had more to say in response Thursday, when he declared America "the number one enemy of our nation," Reuters reports. "The American president's foolish remarks against our people show the depth of America's hostility towards the entire Iranian nation," he said in a televised speech. "We will never accept their bullying over the nuclear deal ... Americans are using all the wickedness to damage the result of the nuclear talks." The US is the only one of the signatories of the multinational nuclear deal refusing to recertify, and the UN on Sunday confirmed Iran is still adhering to the deal, which lifted most sanctions in exchange for Tehran cutting back on its development of its nuclear program. The other signatories say even withdrawal by the US—which is up to Congress—would not cancel the international accord, but Iran has warned of consequences if the deal does crumble. "Any retreat by Iran will make America more blatant and impudent," Khamenei said Thursday. "Resistance is the only option." His speech comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for the deal during a visit to Iran, the AP reports. Khamenei told Putin during that visit that Iran and Russia must work together toward Middle East stability and isolate the US, Reuters reports.