The US secretary of state was responding to Mr Khamenei’s claim that the US election showed the “ugly face of liberal democracy”. Mr Pompeo tweeted: “Khamenei, you’ve personally stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from your people. Your elections are a joke, with hundreds of candidates disqualified from even running.
“Today, your people starve because you spend billions on proxy wars to protect your kleptocracy.”
Mr Pompeo vented his views on the Iranian regime after its leader branded the US election as a “spectacle”.
Mr Khamenei had also savagely attacked the Trump administration claiming there is a “definite political, civil, and moral decline of the US regime”.
The US secretary of state hit back saying the US is “the greatest nation”.
On the day of the US election, Mr Pompeo attacked Iran as a pariah state that still “holds innocent US citizens today”.
He tweeted: “41 years ago, the Iranian regime took 52 US diplomats hostage for 444 days.
“We remember their sacrifice.
“The regime still holds innocent US citizens today.
“The Iranian regime must stop this grotesque hostage campaign and immediately release Morad Tahbaz and the Namazis.”
This drew the wrath of Ali Khamenei who hours later attacked back by suggesting the US election was a “spectacle”.
He tweeted: “What a spectacle!
“One says this is the most fraudulent election in US history.
“Who says that?
“The president who is currently in office.
“His rival says Trump intends to rig the election!
“This is how US elections and US democracy are.”