Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed calls from the Trump Administration to cease all ballistic missile tests and said that US President Donald Trump showed the "true face" of America.
"We are thankful to [President Trump] for making our life easy as he showed the real face of America," Khamenei told military commanders in Tehran, according to the Supreme Leader's website.
"During his election campaign and after that, he confirmed what we have been saying for more than 30 years about the political, economic, moral, and social corruption in the U.S. ruling system," Khameini added.
President Trump accused Iran of "playing with fire" and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn warned that the US was putting Iran "on notice" following the Islamic Republic's testing of a medium range ballistic missile on January 29. The US also placed sanctions on numerous Iranian entities in response to the missile test and an attack on a Saudi ship by Houthi rebels near Yemen which the US believes was intended to target an American ship.
"No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in response to the sanctions. "[Trump] says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb. 10 and will show their stance against such threats."