Hegemons infuriated over Iran’s clout in Mideast: Larijani

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says the global hegemonic powers have been infuriated over the Islamic Republic’s support in Palestine as well as the growing wave of Islamic Awakening across the Middle East.

“The issue of nuclear energy is merely a pretext for the enemies’ aggressions; the major issue is the opposition of the heads of the global hegemonic powers to the holy system of the Islamic Republic for its support for the Palestinian nation which has defused all their plots,” said Larijani at a Saturday conference in the central city of Qom.

“The developments in the regional countries over the past year are another reason for the enemies’ animosity towards the Islamic Republic,” he added.

The top Iranian lawmaker argued that the hegemonic powers have realized Iran’s role in the formation of the ongoing democratic movements across the Arab world, therefore, they seek to put Tehran under pressures, such as economic sanctions, in an attempt to diminish Iran’s influence on these popular uprisings.

Larijani went on to say that some of the regional autocratic regimes also dread Iran’s role and the impact of the Islamic Revolution in the reinforcement of the Islamic Awakening and they are attempting to confine Tehran’s role through hostile measures such as supporting the West’s anti-Iran embargoes and creating religious rifts in the country.

The United States, Zionist Occupation Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program, using this pretext to impose sanctions against Iran and to threaten the country with a military attack.

Iran has refuted the allegations and promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.