PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif “Saudi Arabia is the real global threat”


Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has appealed to the US public over Tehran’s diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia, through an opinion piece in The New York Times.

Zarif claims that the Saudis “stand in the way of constructive engagement” because of “fear that its contrived Iranophobia was crumbling” as a nuclear deal was established between Iran, the US, and other powers. He argues, “Today, some in Riyadh not only continue to impede normalization but are determined to drag the entire region into confrontation.”

The Foreign Minister continues with the accusation that Saudi Arabia is the “real global threat” with “its active sponsorship of violent extremism”, linking the executions to the actions of the Islamic State: “Abroad, masked men sever heads with knives.”

Let us not forget that the perpetrators of many acts of terror, from the horrors of Sept. 11 to the shooting in San Bernardino and other episodes of extremist carnage in between, as well as nearly all members of extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Nusra Front, have been either Saudi nationals or brainwashed by petrodollar-financed demagogues who have promoted anti-Islamic messages of hatred and sectarianism for decades.

The latest crisis in Iranian-Saudi relations was sparked on January 2 when Riyadh executed 47 detainees, including a prominent Shia cleric leading protests against the monarchy. That night, a crowds in Tehran and Mashhad — probably organized by elements within the Iranian regime — protested outside Saudi diplomatic missions, with part of the Saudi Embassy burned and ransacked.

The following day, Saudi Arabia suspended diplomatic relations with Iran. Four of the other five nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti cut or downgraded diplomatic links.

President Rouhani has led calls inside Iran for perpetrators of the Embassy attack to be identified and punished, but others within the regime have maintained that Saudi Arabia staged the event. Meanwhile, Rouhani’s Cabinet has banned imports from Saudi Arabia, while Riyadh has cut commercial ties.

“Attackers in US Are Saudi-Backed”

In his article, Zarif even claims that Saudi Arabia is responsible for attacks in the US, citing Al Qa’eda’s destruction on 9-11 and the killing of 14 people by a Muslim couple in California in December:

Let us not forget that the perpetrators of many acts of terror, from the horrors of Sept. 11 to the shooting in San Bernardino and other episodes of extremist carnage in between — as well as nearly all members of extremist groups like Al Qaeda and [Syria’s] Nusra Front — have been either Saudi nationals or brainwashed by petrodollar-financed demagogues who have promoted anti-Islamic messages of hatred and sectarianism for decades.

Zarif tries to counter criticism of the attack on the Saudi Embassy by citing 50 arrests after the event and an “internal investigation” and claiming Saudi attacks on Iranian diplomatic facilities in Yemen, Lebanon, and Pakistan.

He concludes:

The Saudi leadership must now make a choice: They can continue supporting extremists and promoting sectarian hatred; or they can opt to play a constructive role in promoting regional stability. We hope that reason will prevail.

A Message Over Syria

Zarif’s piece was published hours after he met the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who is trying to establish opposition-regime talks for a political resolution.

While saying that Tehran would not let the diplomatic crisis derail the process, Zarif declared:

What we are [currently] witnessing in the arena of regional developments is Saudi Arabia’s agitating approach.

Saudi Arabia intends to leave a negative impact on Syria’s crisis through its escalating actions. We will not allow Saudi Arabia’s tension-generating approaches to leave a negative impact on [the efforts aimed at the] resolution of the Syria crisis.

Russia and Iran, along with the Assad regime, are trying to exclude leading rebel factions from the negotiations by labeling them as “terrorists”.

The opposition-rebel negotiating team was established last month in a conference in Riyadh. De Mistura — who also met the Assad regime, the opposition-rebel delegation, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey last week — is hoping that talks can begin on January 25.