Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has said that the United States is deriding its own alleged support for human rights by pressuring the Iraqi government over its crackdown on Camp Ashraf residents.
“The U.S. had better not make a further mockery of its hollow slogan of supporting human rights by pressuring Iraq over its clampdown on the members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO),” Larijani stated at the open session of the Majlis on Sunday.
On April 8, following orders of the government and in line with the new Iraqi Constitution, the Iraqi army tried to dismantle the terrorist group’s residential area, called Camp Ashraf, but the MKO members residing in the camp clashed with the Iraqi soldiers.
The Iraqi government has also set a deadline for Camp Ashraf residents to leave the country.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani criticized the recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against the Islamic Republic of Iran as “weird”.
During a press conference in Berlin on Friday, Clinton said that the U.S. saw no evidence that Iran had instigated protests in the Middle East, “but we do see activities by Iran to try to take advantage of these uprisings, they are trying to exploit unrest. They are trying to advance their agenda in neighboring countries. They continue to try to undermine peace and stability, to provoke further conflict.”
Larijani said that such remarks are not based on the realities of the region.
He added that on the one hand, the U.S. and certain other Western countries voice their concern about Iran’s support for popular uprisings in the region, but on the other hand they say that Iran is seeking to exploit the unrest.
U.S. officials are in a daze and their confusion is reflected in the remarks they make, Larijani stated.
“They are in a state of confusion because they do not have or do not want to obtain a clear understanding of the realities on the ground,” he added.
He also said that the U.S. is the main culprit behind the problems facing the region since the people have risen up against the dictators who are close allies of the United States.
The fact that the U.S. is condoning the use of violence against the people in Bahrain and Yemen has complicated the issues, Larijani stated.
The people of regional nations are getting fed up with the U.S. behavior, he concluded