US plots to divide Shia, Sunni fail

Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has warned arrogant powers that their efforts to cause a split between Shia and Sunni Muslims are doomed to fail.

“The enemy seeks to prevent Muslims from making further progress through plots,” Majlis news agency (ICANA) quoted Larijani as saying in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta on Friday.

The senior Iranian official added that the US and its allies would not succeed to obtain their objectives “because Muslims are awakened and will foil their conspiracies.”

He pointed to the revolutions in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain and said, “The movements indicate the Muslims’ awakening because they seek to determine their own destiny and to free themselves from the yoke of dictators.”

Larijani emphasized that efforts by arrogant powers to impede the current awakening in the region would not bear fruits.

The top Iranian parliamentarian stressed the importance of using great potentialities of Muslim countries to strengthen their unity, saying this would lead to a strong current in the world.

Larijani expressed Iran’s opposition to US-backed dictators and said Tehran supports popular uprisings in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya.

In recent months, a wave of revolutions and anti-government uprisings has swept across the Arab world.

In January, a revolution in Tunisia ended the 23-year rule of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

In February, another revolution led to the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after three decades of authoritarian rule. Both dictators were firmly backed by the US and most other Western countries.

Revolutions have also begun in Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, while anti-government demonstrations have been held in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and Algeria.