Zarif: Saudi Arabia, Daesh Following Trump’s Lead

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Saudi Arabia and Daesh Takfiri terrorist group are “eternal bedfellows” and both are following US President Donald Trump’s lead.

“All endorse violence, death and destruction in Iran. Why are we not surprised,” Zarif said in a “breaking” post on his official Twitter account on Friday, Press TV reported.

On December 28, a number of protests over economic problems broke out in several Iranian cities, but the gatherings turned violent when groups of participants, some of them armed, vandalized public property and launched attacks on police stations and government buildings.

 Over a dozen people have been killed in the ensuing violence in Iran, according to state media reports.

In a series of tweets Trump has backed the protests. In its latest weekly publication, Al Nabaa, Daesh terrorist group also declared support for the protests in Iran and said they should continue.

The Iranian foreign minister also said on Thursday the US president’s moves against the Iranian people belie his recent claim that he “supports” them.

Zarif took to Twitter to condemn Trump’s latest claim of support for the Iranian people, saying “Trump has an odd way of showing ‘such respect’ for Iranians: from labeling them a ‘terrorist nation’ and banning them from visiting the US, to petty insults on the name of the Persian Gulf.”

Trump posted a comment on his Twitter account on Wednesday, expressing his “respect” for the Iranians participating in protests in some cities of the country, claiming that the US will provide “great support” to them “at the appropriate time.”

Iranians rally for third day in show of unity, strength

People have taken to the streets in major cities across Iran for a third consecutive day to reiterate support for the Islamic establishment following scattered riots in some parts of the vast country.

Demonstrators rallied in the capital Tehran and the cities of Tabriz, Sari and Kerman to denounce violence by those who infiltrated peaceful protests to turn them into scenes of confrontation and attack on public property.

They carried national flags which had been burnt by some rioters in recent days as well as placards denouncing foreign support for the unrest as they shouted slogans against the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Peaceful protests against recent price hikes and the overall economic conditions last Thursday degenerated into violent melee by certain elements who were armed at times, running amok in a few towns.

The turmoil marked rioters leading fire engines in one city into the crowd of people, killing two bystanders, and attacking a police station elsewhere.

Tehran Friday Prayers leader Seyyed Ahmad Khatami told worshipers ahead of the rallies that “a voice that speaks on behalf of Trump and Netanyahu does not belong to the [Iranian] nation.”

According to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, no more than 42,000 people participated in the riots in total but the events received extensive coverage in US and Arab media, with Washington pushing for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Friday.   

Khatami said the riots were financed by Saudi Arabia and planned by the United States, adding that there had been plans to send arms to the country to overthrow the Islamic establishment.

The cleric said the initial protesters were rightful and that their voice should not have got lost in the melee.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said people are free to criticize and hold protests to express their views according to law, but the manner of expressing criticism must help improve Iran’s conditions.

H.M