Tehran leader: Bush is 'crazy'

TEHRAN, IRAN - The head of Iran&#39;s powerful Guardian Council lashed out at President Bush during a sermon Friday, the latest voice in a growing chorus of criticism from a country whose relations with the United States had seemed to be warming until recently. <br> <br> Hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati ridiculed Bush&#39;s warnings to Iran not to harbor associates of Osama bin Laden or cause upheaval in neighboring Afghanistan. <br> <br> ``The U.S. president is talking crazy in accusing Iran of harboring al-Qaida people,&#39;&#39; Jannati said in comments carried by state-run radio. <br> <br> ``Can anybody speak more stupidly than this? We had been enemies of them. We hated each other and we never had any commonalities,&#39;&#39; he said, referring to al-Qaida and the Taliban. <br> <br> Jannati, whose council oversees elections, legislation, the courts and police, is just one of several Iranian officials, including the reform-minded president, who have attacked Bush since he characterized Iran as part of an ``axis of evil&#39;&#39; during his State of the Union address Tuesday. <br> <br> Early in the U.S. war on terrorism, American officials spoke of better cooperation with Iran, which had long been opposed to the Taliban militia in neighboring Afghanistan. <br> <br> But in the past month, Bush has accused Iran of interfering to undermine Afghanistan&#39;s new government, and Washington has been angered by an alleged attempt to smuggle Iranian weapons to the Palestinians. <br> <br> Bush said in his speech Tuesday that Iran was pursuing weapons of mass destruction and ``exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people&#39;s hope for freedom.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Earlier last month, Bush warned Iranian officials not to harbor al-Qaida fighters and not to try to destabilize Afghanistan&#39;s new government. If the warning were ignored, Bush said the United States would deal with Iran ``in diplomatic ways, initially.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Jannati said Friday that ``peace and tranquility in Afghanistan is extremely important for us, how can they accuse us of disturbing that?&#39;&#39; <br> <br> On Thursday, Iran&#39;s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced Bush and called America ``the most hated Satan in the world.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``The president of the United States is talking like a person who is thirsty for blood, he threatens the countries and nations of the world.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> President Mohammad Khatami said Wednesday that Bush ``spoke arrogantly, humiliatingly, aggressively and in an interfering way - and worse than anything, it is an insult to the Iranian nation.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Friday prayers, usually held at Tehran University were held this week at the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Revolution, to mark the anniversary of his return from exile in 1979. <br> <br> Iran began festivities called the ``Ten-Day Dawn&#39;&#39; celebrating the 23rd anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which swept U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi from power.