Iranian President Mohammad Khatami yesterday distanced Iran from the latest violent developments in Iraq under the leadership of radical Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, saying there was no connection between Iran and radical Shiites.
| Is that just Khatami talking, or have the Big Black Turbans decided that Moqtada's going down and they're cutting the cord? |
IRNA news agency quoted Khatami as saying that the latest violence and kidnapping in Iraq harms the general image of Islam and Muslims.
| Which is already pretty battered... |
The president stressed that Iran supports the moderate policies of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), headed by Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, and Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Both Sistani and Al-Hakim are known to be openly supported by Tehran but at the same time regarded as political rivals of Sadr. Iran, said Khatami, was one of the first countries to acknowledge the Governing Council in Baghdad. But he added that violence and tension would continue and escalate unless the US ends its occupation and allows the Iraqi people to determine their political fate. The president had earlier this week condemned the attacks by US- led coalition forces on Shiites in southern Iraq, describing them as contrary to their initial claims of bringing freedom and democracy to the country. |