US 'sinking in whirlpool': Iran leader

TEHRAN (AFP) - Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday launched a new attack on the United States, saying Iran's arch enemy was "stuck in a whirlpool" and would sink deeper in the future.

"America is weaker compared to 20 years ago and it does not have its previous power and grandeur," Khamenei said in a speech to participants in a religious conference, state television said.

"America and its followers are stuck in a whirlpool and they sink deeper as time passes. A dangerous future is predicted for them," he added.

The United States cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980 during the siege of its embassy in Tehran by Islamist students in the wake of the Islamic revolution which deposed the US-backed shah.

Relations have remained frozen ever since and are marked by continued enmity, with the United States labeled as the "Great Satan" by Tehran.