The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, has accused Saudi Arabia of being the main hub for training terrorists in the region, while responding angrily to earlier critical remarks by his Saudi counterpart.
“For decades, Wahhabism – nurtured by colonial powers – has been the source of bigotry, hatred & terrorism in our region – and beyond,” he tweeted on Thursday. “Fact: Every terrorist group in our region has graduated from Saudi-funded Madrassas.”
Khatibzadeh mentioned “their atrocities in Yemen, & the infamous Khashoggi case are just some of their other stunts,” and added that “Saudis must change course. The policy of inflaming tension is no longer tenable.”
The spokesman’s harsh statements followed tweets by Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs, who tweeted on December 1 that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif “is desperate to blame the kingdom for anything negative that happens in Iran.”
“Will he blame us for the next earthquake or flood?” he queried.
In further remarks, al-Jubeir claimed that “unlike Iran,” it was not the kingdom’s policy “to engage in assassinations,” and added: “Ask us, and ask many other countries who have lost many of their citizens due to Iran’s criminal and illegal behavior!”
Zarif had earlier accused Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel for colluding in the assassination of senior Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh near Tehran on November 27. The Iranian minister mentioned Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged visit to Riyadh and the trilateral meetings between him, Saudi officials, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni powerhouse and regional rival of Shiite Iran, has not formally condemned the assassination of the scientist, although other Gulf states have done so.
Israeli sources said Netanyahu held talks in Saudi Arabia last month, while Riyadh denied any such meeting took place.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
