Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan led a chant of “Death to America!” on a solidarity visit to Iran this weekend, according to Iranian news sources. He also led a chant of “Death to Israel!”
Farrakhan visited Iran ahead of the renewal of U.S. sanctions against the regime at midnight on November 5. The renewed sanctions are the result of the American withdrawal from the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration, which purported to prevent Iran’s development of nuclear weapons but merely delated it.
The Algemeiner, a Jewish community newspaper based in the U.S., reported on Farrakhan’s visit, citing reports in the Iranian media.
The “semi-official state news agency” Mehr reported:
Louis Farrakhan made the remarks in a meeting with the Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei in Tehran on Sunday, during which he also called the United States a big liar.
Farrakhan expressed happiness with his visit to Iran, saying the goal of his visit is to demonstrate real friendship with Iran.
Meanwhile, he said that the Americans have always been plotting against Iran and are seeking to create an internal enemy in Iran.
“I understand how the enemies have plotted against the Iranian people and I would like to stay alongside you to stop their plots,” he asserted.
Mehr also reported that Farrakhan criticized the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia and the U.S.-led war on the Ghadafi regime in Libya in 2011.
The Algemeiner also cited the IRIB news outlet, whose report is available through Google Translate. According to IRIB, Farrakhan delivered remarks to students at the University of Tehran:
Pointing to women’s freedoms in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Muslim Muslim leader said: “In the Islamic Revolution of Iran, men are alongside women and women are free to reach the ultimate level of their talent.”
…
He said that the United States and Israel are one of the most feared countries in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and if we do not resist them, we will leave nothing but death and destruction for our children.
The Muslim leader of the United States, in the end, stressed: Make a promise of self-striving to strengthen the interest of Muslims.
He then spoke the phrase “Death to America” in Farsi, and a number of students also accompanied him.
Video of Farrakhan’s appearance circulated on social media:
Here is video of @LouisFarrakhan in Iran saying “Death to Israel!” in Farsi with a smile on his face.pic.twitter.com/VFoosQUmTt
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) November 5, 2018
The Jerusalem Post also cited Farrakhan as comparing President Donald Trump to Satan during his Iran visit.
In 2005, the Congressional Black Caucus met with Farrakhan — whose racist and antisemitic views have been well known for decades. At that meeting, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) interacted with Farrakhan and posed for a photograph with him. The photograph (above) was deliberately suppressed until 2018 to avoid damaging Obama’s political career.
Last month, Farrakhan posted a video of a recent sermon to Twitter in which he referred to Jews as “termites.” Leaders of the Women’s March, an anti-Trump organization aligned with the Democratic Party, are unapologetic about their ties to Farrakhan.
Update: The Middle East Media Research Institute reports that during a press conference, Farrakhan refused to chant “death to America” on camera, but defended Iranians in their use of that phrase.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file
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