Iran’s Khamenei urges Israel’s ‘defeat,’ accuses Saudis of ‘treason’

Supreme leader calls on Muslim countries to rally behind ‘totally ignored’ Palestinians

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran, Iran, on December 6, 2017. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran, Iran, on December 6, 2017. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday called on the Muslim world to unite behind the “totally ignored” Palestinians and accused Saudi Arabia of “treason” against Muslims because of its alleged ties to Israel.

Addressing representatives from the Muslim-majority countries in Tehran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also predicted Israel’s demise and accused the United States of creating and supporting the Islamic State terrorist group “till their last breaths.”

“Palestine is an important issue of the Muslim World which has been totally ignored,” Khamenei said in a speech, which he excerpted in a series of tweets.

The supreme leader of Iran, which funds terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, called for the “defeat” of Israel, expressing confidence the effort would “bear fruit.”

“Defeating the Zionists in a soft war is possible just as it is during hard war,” he tweeted. “I believe that this struggle against the Zionist regime will bear fruit, just as the resistance has progressed today.”

“There was a time when the Zionists chanted ‘From Nile to Euphrates,’ today they are building up walls around themselves, so that they can protect themselves on that occupied land,” he continued.

The Iranian supreme leader said the Palestinians should have a state encompassing the entirety of the State of Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital.

“Palestine is a collective, a country with a history. Palestine is from the river to the sea and Al Quds is undoubtedly its capital,” he tweeted, referring to Jerusalem by its Arabic name.

He also attacked Saudi Arabia, with which Iran has been conducting proxy wars in Lebanon and Yemen, for cooperating with the United States.

“Governments that help the United States and cooperate with the Zionist regime to fight Muslim brothers are committing treason, like what Saudis are doing,” he said.

However, he also said Iran is ready to adopt a “brotherly attitude” toward countries that have been hostile toward it, and called for Muslim unity for the sake of defeating Israel.

Iran and Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties in 2016 and support opposing sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Iran has seized on media reports that Saudi Arabia is seeking closer ties with Israel in order to join forces against it, something the Saudis deny.

Khamenei also attacked the United States and slammed US President Donald Trump for his negative comments about Africa and Haiti, referring to it as a “human rights” issue.

And he accused the US of creating and supporting Islamic State, until its recent defeat.

Khamenei’s words echoed the message of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said Tuesday that with the end of Islamic State, the Palestinians must be the main focus of the Islamic world.

Rouhani blamed regional instability on Israel’s “occupation of Palestine” with the United State’s “tendentious and unstinting” support, the Iranian Press TV reported.

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