Iran's Supreme Leader says the US created the Islamic State
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to Twitter late Monday and into Tuesday to argue the United States is responsible for the creation of the Islamic State group and is not living up to its end of the bargain in the nuclear deal.
Khamenei's remarks came as the Iranian foreign minister argued on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is actively propping up violent extremist groups on Iran's border.
"That US arms a terrorist group is what causes instability. Who created #ISIS? The US!" Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei tweeted on his English-language Twitter account. "That the US joined the anti-ISIS coalition is a lie. They're against an unrestrained ISIS but agree with a controlled ٍٍٍ#ISIS."
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Khamenei went further.
"US president accuses Iran of terrorism, while terrorism in this region has American roots," the Supreme Leader tweeted. "US talks w/Saudi medieval regime, a stigma that won't be cleaned off US, on human rights of Iran--a country which is symbol of democracy!"
Khamenei's comments come as the United States is forging a renewed anti-extremism alliance predicated on its relationship with Saudi Arabia. In recent days, President Donald Trump has joined with Saudi Arabia in harshly criticizing Gulf ally Qatar for its alleged links to extremism and the Iranian state.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif concurred with Khamenei, and said the Iranian state had intelligence that Saudi Arabia is "actively" propping up extremist groups on the Iranian border. The Sunni Islamic State group has taken credit for twin terrorist attacks in Tehran last week, although Saudi Arabia and the group denounce each other.
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"We have intelligence that Saudi Arabia is actively engaged in promoting terrorist groups" in operation near both the western and eastern borders of Iran, Zarif said in Oslo, Norway.
Iran and leading observers of the region argue the Trump strategy ignores the longtime funding by Saudi Arabia of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist Sunni sect of Islam many have blamed for laying the philosophical groundwork for the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.
On Twitter, Iran's Supreme Leader also touted the country's recent elections, implicitly drawing a contrast with Saudi Arabia.
"People reacted collectively during #Iranelections2017: expressing trust in Islamic establishment to elect officials. This is invaluable," Khamenei tweeted.
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In May, a 19-second pause by State Department official Stuart Jones when asked why the U.S. criticized Iran on democracy issues, but not Saudi Arabia, went viral.
"Iranians overwhelmingly chose to pursue peaceful, indigenous change through the ballot box predicated on moderation at home and abroad," Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, wrote in co-authored piece in the Huffington Post earlier this month. "When juxtaposed with Saudi Arabia, the contrast is stark. The kingdom does not permit meaningful elections."
The Supreme Leader also attacked the United States on Tuesday for not living up to its obligations per the Iran nuclear deal.
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