U.S. era gone, Iranian cleric says

TEHRAN, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Gone is the era of the United States as a superpower, as world opinion of America is poor, said Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami in his Friday sermon.

The interim Friday prayer leader said in Tehran that despite the paradigm shift in Washington with Democratic President-elect Barack Obama, world opinion of America is tainted by the legacy of the current administration of George W. Bush.

"Since about 60 years ago, since the presidency of (Dwight) Eisenhower, not a slight change has been made in the U.S. foreign policy," he said. "Rule of the game changes. They come on the scene one day with the slogan of change and the other day with the slogan of campaign against terrorism."

The cleric said Bush had bankrupted not just the U.S. economy but also its sense of political leadership, the official Islamic Republic News Agency said.

"The United States cannot now beat the drum of being a superpower," said Khatami. "They have themselves said that gone is the era of being a superpower."

Iran earlier this week tested its Sejil solid-fuel propellant missile, its next generation of surface-to-surface missiles with a range of around 1,200 miles, well within the reach of Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.