Iran’s Rouhani says Trump will cost the US, calls him a political novice

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump is “new to politics” and still has a lot to learn.

“He has been in a different world. It’s a totally new environment to him,” he said at a space technology conference in Tehran.

“It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world,” Rouhani added.

His comments followed an executive order from Trump to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, to enter the United States for 90 days. Trump denied on Sunday that his policy was based on religious grounds. Instead, he said it was about keeping the country safe.

According to Rouhani, such a decision will only harm the United States.

“They (the American government) have cried out for many years that they are against the government of Iran and back the people of Iran. Now they proved that their statements, which they have been making for years to be wrong so clearly, they have been thinking differently behind the scenes and have been uttering different words. Because this person (Trump) is a special character, he has removed the mask of hypocrisy and he is showing what they have in their hearts,” the Iranian leader said.

“You have issued visas, you have stamped them in passports, you have signed them and now you say you don’t accept it and they cannot travel to your country. They (the U.S. government) have contravened all international principals and commitments,” he added.

Apart from Trump’s immigration ban, Rouhani also criticized the decision by the new U.S. administration to build a wall on its border with Mexico.

“Today we live in a world of communications,” he said. “Today is not a time for separating nations by walls,” he added.

Source: CNBC