IRANIAN supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei branded US President Donald Trump “a clown” who will “push a poisonous dagger into the heart of the nation” during Friday prayers today.

In his first Friday sermon since 2012 he went on the offensive, branding Western countries as too weak “to bring Iranians to their knees.”

He accused Britain, France and Germany of subservience to the US after the latter triggered a dispute mechanism to try to bring Iran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal –  which the US walked away from 18 months ago.

Mr Khameini said that they were “evil” and blasted the Western governments for threatening to take the nuclear issue to the Security Council.

“These are the same three countries that helped Saddam Hussein as much as they could during the imposed war,” the Ayatollah added

But his main fury was directed at the US and Mr Trump who he said were “terrorists” after the targeted assassination of Quds Force commander general Qasem Soleimani in a drone-strike at Baghdad International airport earlier this month.

“In assassinating this valiant martyr, the Americans did not face him on the battlefield, but they committed this crime stealthily and cowardly, which brought about more disgrace to them,” he said.

Mr Khameini continued: “Of course, the Americans have committed a lot of crimes and killings in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this time the US President confessed in his own words, ‘We are terrorists,’ there is no greater disgrace than this.”

He tried to downplay the popular anti-government protests sweeping the country that have intensified since the admission that Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet killing all 176 on board.

But protesters remain defiant, insisting that they oppose both the theocratic regime and the US, rejecting the support of Mr Trump and his allies.