In Iran, Grand Ayat. blames Saudis for Muslim killings

Amid the long-drawn-out conflict in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, a senior Iranian cleric blames Saudi Arabia for the killing of innocent people.

Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani highlighted the growing influence of Islam on the global stage and talked about certain enemy conspiracies against the Muslim denomination.

“The influence and status of [Shia] Islam has frightened the enemy and prompted them to resort to military attacks,” Nouri-Hamedani said.

“The war and the killing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen have roots in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The Grand Ayatollah described Saudi enmity toward the descendants of Imam Ali (PBUH) as the main reason for the ongoing military conflicts in the cited countries.

Shias believe that Imam Ali’s descendants – the twelve Imams – are the lawful successors of the Prophet of Islam, Mohamed (PBUH).

The comments by the senior cleric came as a group of Iranian students rallied outside the country’s foreign ministry building in Tehran to protest the killing of Shias in Yemen.

The protesters demanded action against the killing of civilians in Yemen and condemned Riyadh’s interference in Yemeni affairs and the Israeli-backed assaults by Saudi Arabia on Yemen.