Tehran (Iran), Oct 14 (AFP) Iranians responded with angerand mockery today to the bellicose criticism of theirgovernment by US President Donald Trump, who threatened totear up a landmark nuclear deal.
Trump's use of the phrase "Arabian Gulf" rather than"Persian Gulf" particularly hit a nerve in a country with afierce nationalistic streak.
"Everyone knew Trump's friendship was for sale to thehighest bidder. We now know that his geography is too," wroteForeign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Twitter, referring tothe US alliance with Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia.
Despite pressure from the Arab Gulf monarchies, mostinternational bodies still use "Persian Gulf" as theconventional name for the region's waterway, and many Iraniansshared photos of US veterans' medals and graves referring tothe "Persian Gulf conflict" of the 1990s.
In his White House speech last evening, Trump reeled offa list of grievances committed by the "Iranian dictatorship,its sponsorship of terrorism, and its continuing aggression inthe Middle-East and all around the world".
He also threatened to "terminate" the 2015 nuclear dealsigned between Iran and six world powers unless Congresspassed stringent new sanctions.
But as Iranians headed to their offices on today - thefirst day of the work week in Iran - the reaction was oftenone of bemusement.
"Trump's statements are so ridiculous that it actuallyworks in Iran's favour. Speaking about the 'Arabian Gulf' istaken very badly by people here," said Abbas, a 40-year-oldbanker, who only gave his first name.
"The reaction of the Europeans shows that the UnitedStates is isolated, and only Saudi Arabia and Israel havesupported Trump," he added.
The other signatories to the nuclear deal - Britain,France, Germany, China and Russia - have called for itspreservation, saying that Iran is clearly sticking to itscommitments.
Trump's efforts to reach out to ordinary Iranians, who hereferred to as the "longest-suffering victims" of the Islamicregime, also appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, with manyrecalling the travel ban he slapped on them earlier this year.
"The most disgusting part of Trump's speech was when hetried to show himself as sympathising with Iranians," wroteone Twitter user.
"Reminder: Not even 6 months have passed from theexecution of visa ban for Iranians!" wrote another.
For all the bluster, Trump's strategy was not as tough asmany had predicted.
Although new sanctions have been placed on Iran'sRevolutionary Guards, it was not designated a foreignterrorist organisation as had been trailed in the weeksleading up to the speech.
This was spun as a victory by some elements in Iran, withthe hardline Kayhan newspaper saying: "Guards' formula worked:Trump didn't dare put the Guards on the list of terroristgroups."This was a reference to threats in recent days that USforces would receive a "crushing" response if the Guards weredesignated as terrorists.
President Hassan Rouhani took to the airwaves shortlyafter Trump's speech last night, dismissing it as "nothing butthe repetition of baseless accusations and swear words".
"He has not studied international law. Can a presidentannul a multilateral international treaty on his own?" Rouhanisaid.
Nonetheless, the deal's future hangs in the balance asthe US Congress has 60 days to decide whether to reimposenuclear-related sanctions, or possibly new "trigger points"that would lead to new sanctions.
"If the Congress goes ahead with new sanctions, then thedeal is dead and Iran will restart its nuclear programme andmove forward full-steam ahead in all fields," MohammadMarandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, told AFP.
"Iran will probably invest even more than before in orderto show the Americans that they can't get away with destroyingthe agreement." (AFP) HMB MRJMRJ.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.