The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday became one of many observers to describe the London Bridge terror attack, along with the previous week’s atrocity in Manchester, as a “wake-up call.”
However, Iran’s explanation for why the terrorism alarm is ringing is a bit different than most.
“Repeated blind terror attacks around the world are a wake-up call for the world community. To uproot terror, it is necessary that they address the root causes as well as the main financial and ideological sources of extremism and violence, which are clear to everyone,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi, as quoted by Iran’s IRNA news agency and translated by Reuters.
Of course, some might point to Iran’s clear support of terrorism, but that is not what Qasemi had in mind as the root cause of terrorism. Reuters considers his remarks a “thinly veiled reference to Saudi Arabia.”
This is hardly a new accusation from Iran, which constantly accuses the Saudis of masterminding global terrorism while denying its own contributions, and vice versa. Exactly a month ago, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Iran of using terrorism to spread its apocalyptic “Twelver Jaafari” beliefs, vowing that Riyadh “will not wait until the fight is inside Saudi Arabia” to push back.
The Twelfth Imam is a messianic figure believed by many Shiite Muslims to have been hidden away for the past twelve centuries, pending the end of history and the final judgment of mankind. The Saudi prince accused Iran of seeking to “control the Muslim world” to prepare for the Twelfth Imam’s arrival, specifically accusing Tehran of seeking to control the holy city of Mecca.
Iran’s foreign ministry sent forth the very same spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, to denounce Prince Mohammed’s comments as “destructive.”
“These comments are proof that Saudi Arabia supports terrorism and seeks confrontational and destructive policies in the region and towards Iran,” said Qasemi.
In April, Iran claimed to have arrested a squad of terrorists who confessed they were working for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, on a mission to “destabilize Iran” with violent attacks.
For their part, the Saudis frequently accuse Iran of promoting unrest in the Kingdom’s eastern province of Qatif, which has a high Shiite population.
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