'Cunning' UK is father of the Great Satan: Janati

IranMania:

A top Iranian cleric warned the government Friday to beware of Britain in Tehran's nuclear negotiations with three European powers, saying it was trying to force Iran to give up sensitive technology.

"In reality the English are the father of the Great Satan," Ayatollah Ahmad Janati said in a sermon during Friday prayers, using the term hardliners employ to describe Iran's arch-enemy the United States, according to AFP.

He said the British were "leaders in being cunning, so we have to be very careful."

"The English are saying 'there is no need for US bullying, we will make Iran retreat step by step'," said Janati, a hardline cleric who sits at the head of the Guardians Council, a powerful political oversight body. ...

Janati also told the United States to ease its harsh rhetoric against Iran, telling Washington that "the more Iran is threatened, the more Iranians will remain committed to their animosity towards America," AFP added. ...