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Iranian President: ‘Death to America’ Condemns Policy, Not American People

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks with media in a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer after their meeting at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. Iran's president said on Tuesday that his country is ready to hold talks with the United States and Saudi Arabia on ways to resolve Syria's civil war, providing such negotiations can secure peace and democracy in conflict-torn Syria. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks with media in a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Tehran on Sept. 8, 2015.Ebrahim Noroozi—AP
By Charlotte Alter

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says that when Iranians chant “death to America,” they don’t mean they want to kill Americans. Instead, he says, the slogan is a condemnation of American policy.

Rouhani explained the controversial chant to CBS’s Steve Kroft in an interview that will air on 60 Minutes on Sunday:

“This slogan that is chanted is not a slogan against the American people. Our people respect the American people. The Iranian people are not looking for war with any country, but at the same time the policies of the United States have been against the national interests of Iranian people. It’s understandable that people will demonstrate sensitivity to this issue. When the people rose up against the Shah, the U.S. aggressively supported the Shah until the last moments. In the eight year war with Iraq, the Americans supported Saddam. People will not forget these things. We cannot forget the past, but at the same time, our gaze must be towards the future.”

The interview was President Rouhani’s first with a Western journalist since the Iran deal was made in July.

[CBS]

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Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com