Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani |
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 | PressTV Iran's parliament speaker has advised the US president to "do something about" his secretary of state because she is jeopardizing US interests.
"Mr. Obama you should do something about your secretary of state before it's too late. It seems like she is still stuck in election rivalries. She is harming US national interests," Ali Larijani said in Majlis (Iran's parliament) on Sunday.
Larijani was referring to recent hostile and quite ironical comments made by Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to Saudi Arabia about Iran turning into a "military dictatorship."
Larijani said that Clinton's outburst proved that US politicians were not able to tolerate the humiliation they felt after February 11 rallies marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution drew huge turn-outs in Iran.
"[The rallies] made US politicians restless. They could not bear it, so they started embarking on trips to the region to create some sort of artificial awe for themselves," he said.
"However, the political forgetfulness that these kamikaze diplomats demonstrate is sad. Till just a few days ago they were talking of fighting the Islamic Republic and allocating funds to projects that aimed to destabilize the system."
"But suddenly, in their recent tour, they started worrying about the possibility of Iran's administration, leadership, and parliament being replaced by a military dictatorship," he added, mocking Clinton's words.
Clinton's take on the situation in Iran drew quite different reactions.
She got some criticism for the irony and hypocrisy of talking about the threat of an Iranian military dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, a country that it is seen a leading example of military dictatorship in the Middle East and beyond.
Elections are an extremely rare event in the US-allied Saudi kingdom. However, it is not often that the ruling family is scrutinized by Western powers about its lack of inclination to move towards democracy, although it is what the US says it aims to bring to the Middle East.
While Clinton was criticized by some, her Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al Faisal, however, was quick to rush to her support by telling reporters that the so-called threat posed by Iran actually demanded a "more immediate solution" than sanctions.
During his Sunday speech, Larijani commented on the Saudi position and said that it was "unfortunate" to see an official in one of the regional Arab states fall for US lobbying in the region.
"He [Prince Saud al Faisal] immediately started to talk about the need to take speedy action about the 'threat' posed by Iran," he said.
He then asked Saudi officials why they chose to "tie their reputation to US arrogance."
"They will pay you the same amount of attention they paid the Shah of Iran to take advantage of his position."
"You are sacrificing Islamic cooperation for the exploits of a country that is looking a way to save itself from the quagmire that its mistakes have created in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Lebanon" he concluded.
