Iran cleric: London bombings part of US incitement of religious war

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Jul. 15 – Echoing an accusation that has become a familiar refrain in public pronouncements by Iran’s officials, the Friday prayers leader in Ardebil, northwest Iran, accused the United States and its allies of being behind the June 7 London bombings to instigate a religious war.
Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 15 – Echoing an accusation that has become a familiar refrain in public pronouncements by Iran’s officials, the Friday prayers leader in Ardebil, northwest Iran, accused the United States and its allies of being behind the June 7 London bombings to instigate a religious war.

Seyyed Hossein Amoli, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Ardebil, told a gathering of worshipers in the Friday prayers ceremony, “The United States, using its home-made group Al’Qaeda, is trying to instigate a religious war in the world and has taken steps along this line”.

Amoli criticised the West and the U.S. in particular for stating that Muslims were behind the London attacks which claimed at least 54 lives, stating, “Without even the slightest doubt this [bombing”> was the work of Jews and Mossad [Israel’s secret police”>. Because of Britain’s relationship with the Zionists one can state that with this conspiracy the West is fast trying to break the power and strength of Muslims and prevent the spread of Islam in the West, though their hypocritical faces have been exposed”.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, one of Iran’s most powerful clerics who heads the country’s unelected constitutional watchdog, made the same argument in the sermon he delivered in Tehran today.

“There exists the possibility that the British government carried out this work, like the possibility [of American involvement”> in the September 11 affair, since they themselves stand to benefit the most”, Jannati said.

Jannati is a close confidant of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s newly-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is widely seen as Jannati’s protégé.

The reason for the similarity between the sermons in Tehran and Ardebil is that Friday prayers leaders across Iran receive set guidelines every week from the Secretariat of Friday Prayers Ceremonies in Tehran, which is affiliated to the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The guidelines brief the clerics as to what they must say in their political speeches during the weekly prayers.

“America and its accomplice Britain are under strong pressure from public opinion over their attack on the Muslim people of Iraq and to escape from this pressure they are trying to demonise Islam and Muslims”, Amoli said in his sermon.