Delivering a sermon at the Masumeen Islamic Centre located in the Canadian suburb of Brampton, which was revealed on video by Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) Jaffer explained that such resistance to pressure is necessary in the age of Trump.
Jaffer said that Trump is and has always been a bully, and he denounced the tactics that he has been using to force other countries to fall into line.
“Trump has been bullying people his entire life, right?" he said. "From his days of business, and now we see that even more in his presidency."
Especially objectionable in Jaffer's eyes was Trump's approach to the Iran nuclear deal, which he said was an offshoot of "his egocentric approach to life." According to Jaffer, Trump's rejection of the deal was without any grounds, and his sanctions on Iran represent another wave of bullying.
"Not only did he impose some of the heaviest sanctions on the country – very recently, he imposed sanctions on Khamenei himself, may Allah give him a long life, he said, "and he went after other leadership positions by trying to financially cripple them."
The new sanctions that have emerged from Trump's G20 meetings with leaders of countries in the European Union have only continued this precedent of using force, Jaffer said. Trump has threatened to sanction any European countries that continue to buy oil from Iran, according to Jaffer's description.
Jaffer said that he hoped that the European countries would follow Iran's lead, rather than that of Canada and Mexico in their negotiations regarding NAFTA.
"We are going to see now how these other countries respond to this form of bullying – whether they take the approach that has been seen by Iran, or they take the approach that has been seen by Canada and Mexico,” he said.
Standing "firm" and "refusing to accept humiliation" was both politically and religiously significant to Jaffer, who said that such behavior falls in line with "the household of the Prophet."