Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, inspected military foot drills performed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
During the drills, the soldiers chanted, "Allah Akbar! Khomeini is our leader!... America, America, death to your deception! The blood of our youth is dripping from your fingers!"
An announcer also said: "We will eliminate the regime of injustice... 'Death to America' is the cry of my life!" The drill included a depiction of the White House with a Star of David on top.
The White House was labeled "House of Injustice," and the pillars on the front of the White House were labeled "Corruption," "Racism," "Terrorism," "Axis of Evil," "Hollywood," "Dollar," "ISIS," "Genocide," "War," and "Violence."
The drill then depicted the White House being split by a sword, followed by the collapse of the White House and the Star of David.
The foot drills aired on channel 5 of the Iranian television on October 16 and were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
“Death to America” is often chanted at rallies in Iran. The practice is openly encouraged by Iranian leaders, particularly Khamenei who often verbally attacks the US, to which he refers as the “Great Satan”.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, often touted as a “moderate” president, has personally presided over “Death to America” chants during rallies in Iran, even though he claimed that Iranians “respect the American people”.
Attacks on Israel are also common. In June, Khamenei launched a Twitter tirade against Israel, saying that “the Zionist regime will perish in the not-so-far future.”
Earlier that month he called Israel “a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated”.
Rouhani has in the past called Israel “illegitimate” and lamented that the crisis in Syria has made it difficult for Iran to focus on harming Israel. More recently, he said that Israel “can never feel safe” because it is “oppressing the Palestinian nation”.
