CNN’s Blitzer Asks If ‘Death to America’ ‘Just a Slogan’

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked if “death to America” and “death to Israel” chants in Iran are “just a slogan” on Friday’s broadcast of “Wolf.”

Blitzer, interviewing Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgen in Tehran, asked “when you hear these thousands of people at these Friday prayers chanting ‘death to America, death to Israel,’ you’ve been hearing that for a long time, but do they really mean it? Or is it just a slogan? What was your sense?”

Pleitgen answered “well, I think a lot of it is a slogan. I think a lot of it is part of the ceremony that goes on here. I think a lot of it is just something that really is reflexive. Of course, they do feel very combative towards the United States. Especially if you look at the religious leadership of this country. Also, of course, if you look at the many military and security institutions of this country, they feel that they are the ones who are standing up to the US, and of course, to Israel as well. And you see it around town here as well. There’s banners all over the place. The big slogan there right now is ‘resistance forever.’ So, while ‘death to the US, death to Israel’ is probably not something that they necessarily mean literally, it is something where they do believe that they are in a struggle against the US and Israel, and they certainly feel that the US and [Israel] [don’t] want anything good for Iran.”

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