Cleric slams instigators of Iraq violence

Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami has condemned the new wave of violence in Iraq, expressing sorrow over the “tragic” situation in the country.

“No man of conscience can see these events in Iraq and indifferently pass them by,” IRNA quoted Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers leader as saying.

Ayatollah Khatami was referring to the weekend’s hostage situation, which left at least 52 people killed in a church in Baghdad. Two days later, numerous coordinated bombings in and around the capital left more than 120 people dead.

“In Iraq, on a single day, 22 [bomb] explosions left hundreds of martyrs and injured. It is crystal clear that there is a measured scheme at work because Iraqis are moving toward taking the crisis-stricken nation to safety,” the cleric added.

“Iraq’s problems are being resolved and this worries those who cannot stand the success and rule of the Iraqi people: the US who never wanted the independence of the Iraqis along with some regional countries,” Ayatollah Khatami stated.

“They need an insecure Iraq to achieve their goals,” the cleric went on to add.

Ayatollah Khatami warned that the Iraqis would not be the only one suffering violence, but those countries involved would also take the heat.

On the anniversary of the November 4, 1979 US Embassy takeover in Tehran by Iranian students, Ayatollah Khatami hailed the move and slammed Washington as the symbol of all evil.

As long as the US retains its arrogant nature, Washington will take to grave the dream of negotiations with Iran, he concluded.