Story highlights Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei wants to 'thank this new guy in the White House'

He cites travel ban, attacks Trump over human rights

(CNN) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that he's grateful to President Donald Trump for showing "the true face of the US."

Khamenei told a gathering of Iran's air force commanders in Tehran that the new US administration has shown the world "the depth of corruption in US government," according to quotes published by Iran's semi-official MEHR news agency.

Khamenei reportedly told the commanders: "We however thank this new guy in the White House, since he largely did the job we had been trying to do in the past decades: to divulge the true face of the US. We had been working to show the world the depth of corruption in US government and ranks and files of the ruling elite; Trump did it in few days after coming to the White House."

He added: "Their claims to human rights are no longer tenable."

On anniv. of historic allegiance of Air Force officers with Imam Khomeini in Feb. 79, IRIAF commanders & staff met with Revolution's Leader. pic.twitter.com/FDHRoUt4nT — Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) February 7, 2017

Khamenei also made an apparent reference to the five-year-old son of an Iranian mother who was detained at a US airport following Trump's ban on visas for seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.

Read More