Of course this is to be expected from a regime that reveres Khomeini. Khomeini made similar statements back in his glorious days, but at least he had said: “America can’t do a damn thing,” and not the incumbent president. Larijani is not the only Iranian statesman (a title he hardly deserves) who follows Khomeini’s suit. Ahmadinejad, most Friday prayer imams, and even Khamenei himself have not only failed to follow diplomatic norms, but also routinely make disrespectful, impolite and rude statements.
Larijani’s words, however, are tactless for several reasons: he is supposedly a man of god, a believer, and a preacher; he is the head of a “justice” department that convicts ordinary Iranians to prison terms and death sentences for similar insults on a routine basis; and because Barack Obama has been nothing but civilized towards Iran. Every Nowruz he sends a dignified message to the Iranian people and quotes one of the great Iranian poets. He also refers to Khamenei as “Supreme Leader.” Yet, Mr. Larijani, whose office should not even be involved in foreign policy matters, feels the need to make inflammatory and vulgar statements towards President Obama. Iranians are considered a cultured people. The same cannot be said of the mullahs running the nation, but unfortunately, as our forced and selected officials, they represent the entire Iranian people. Thus, any statement by them regrettably reflects something about us as a nation. As such, this type of conduct by Iranian officials not only belittles the Iranian nation and culture, but also humiliates and mortifies every single Iranian individual, both inside and outside of Iran.
Statecraft, whether dealing with domestic politics or foreign policy, requires an art or expertise in carefully calibrating one’s words, and prudently articulating one’s message. It is particularly important for the Iranian regime to grasp the importance of this fact given how much is at stake for the Iranian nation in the midst of the current negotiations between n Iran and the United States.