Iranian Guard Chief Says US ‘Still the Great Satan’

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard said Tuesday that the U.S. is still the “Great Satan,” regardless of the nuclear deal struck with Americans and world powers over the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program.

The comments by Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, reported by the official Guard website, said that “the enmity against Iranian nation by the U.S. has not lessened and it has been increased.”

“We should not be deceived by the U.S.,” Jafari reportedly said. “It wants to infiltrate into Iran, resorting to new instruments and method.”

The Guard and hard-liners remain suspicious of the U.S., even as authorities look over the historic accord that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in return to lifting economic sanctions.

Earlier Tuesday, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, the head of powerful Iran’s Experts Assembly, which oversees the nation’s Supreme Leader and institutions under his supervision, also said the nuclear deal will not alter Iran’s foreign policy toward the United States.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the U.S. its No. 1 enemy,” Yazdi said. “If you try to discover the root of the sedition that is happening around us today, you will identify U.S. as its main supporter.”

His remarks echo those earlier made by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But while Khamenei hasn’t said whether he supports the nuclear deal, he has praised the work of the country’s negotiators.

Meanwhile Tuesday, the state news agency IRNA quoted Tehran’s police chief, Gen. Hossein Sajedinia, as saying his officers detained several people for distributing apparel bearing the flags of the U.S., Israel and Britain, as well as items bearing Satanic symbols. Such crackdowns on Western items are common in Iran.