Iran blasts US, Saudis after attacks
Mourners carrying coffins of dead shout anti- America chants
“( Attacks) will only increase hatred for ( the U. S.) and their stooges in the region like Saudis.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out against the United States and Saudi Arabia on Friday, saying this week’s deadly terror attacks on Tehran by the Islamic State would lead to increased hatred of the two nations.
In a condolence message read to mourners ahead of a funeral for the victims of Wednesday’s attack that killed 17 and wounded scores, Khamenei blasted leaders in Washington and Riyadh.
“It will not damage our nation’s determination to fight terrorism ... but will only increase hatred for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudis,” Khamenei said in his message.
The rebuke of the U. S. and Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia, came as thousands of mourners chanted “Down with the U. S.” and “Death to Al- Saud” while carrying the coffins of the victims through the streets of Tehran following Friday prayers.
The cutting remarks from Khamenei came one day after Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, denounced President Trump’s response to the suicide bombing as “repugnant.”
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the twin attack on Iran’s parliament and the tomb of the country’s former supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei.
It was the first attack by the radical Sunni terror group in Iran, a majority Shiite nation.
Trump issued a statement after the attack offering condolences for the victims, while also taking a swipe at Iran.
“We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times,” Trump said. “We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Friday called the U. S. the “international” version of the Islamic State and accused Washington of exchanging democracy for money, the Associated Press reported.
Trump and the Saudi king last month signed eight different agreements approving almost $ 110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom also approved 23 foreign investment export licenses with U. S. companies, bringing the total amount of investments to $ 350 billion over 10 years.
Larijani also criticized a Wednesday decision by the U. S. Senate to move forward on a new set of sanctions against Iran, including its elite Revolutionary Guards, a move that came on the same day as the Tehran attacks, AP reported.