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Will Iran Silence its
(Telegraph-UK) Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat - Chants of "Death to America" have been part of Iranian public life since the country's Islamic revolution in 1979. But a national debate on the appropriateness of the chant erupted last month. Since Iran wants the West to lift economic sanctions in return for nuclear concessions over its nuclear program, there is a drive by President Rouhani to end its public use. "We can stand against powers with prudence rather than with slogans," Rouhani said, winning the backing of the most senior cleric in Isfahan who called for a ban on the chant. "'Death to America' is not a verse in the holy book of the Koran and there is no logic in chanting it forever," Sheikh Mohammad Taghi Rahbar told the Ghanoon daily. But Ahmad Khatami, a leading ayatollah, publicly rebelled against the move. "As long as there is American evil in the world, this slogan will endure across the nation," he said.