In the post-Obama-phone-call era of renewed relations with Iran, and just as the latest round of talks began between the P5+1 and Iran over its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted and posted on his Facebook page a comment he made while addressing the Basij paramilitary force:
Twitter users quickly pointed out that the photo the Iranians used is a 2007 image of IDF soldiers helping get the attacking dog away from the woman.
A senior U.S. official at the talks in Geneva called Khamenei’s remarks “uncomfortable,” prompting Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to issue a rebuke:
The statements made by Iran’s Supreme Leader are more than “uncomfortable.” They should be condemned. http://t.co/LAM13FCYDx
— Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) November 20, 2013
UN Ambassador Samantha Power said on CNN this morning that she’d “obviously condemn the comments of the Ayatollah, which are abhorrent.”
“What I will say is that we have decades of mistrust, partly on the basis of comments like this, partly on the basis of the continued steady progress toward a nuclear weapon,” she said. “And that’s why we’re in the negotiations in the first place, right, is to ensure that a regime like that does not acquire a nuclear weapon, pose a threat not only to Israel but to the broader region and to mankind.”
And that image from Khamenei followed other inflammatory tweets, including a veiled threat at France for standing up for Israel at the P5+1.
#Arrogance has no regard for the lives of nations; the crimes against the indigenous & killing of 100,000 Japanese ppl with atomic bomb etc.
— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 20, 2013
I put an emphasis on supporting the govt.; I also put an emphasis on ensuring Iranian nation’s right. #IranTalks
— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 20, 2013
#Zionist regime is severely weakened & is doomed to decline. Every phenomenon generated by force is not viable.
— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 20, 2013
Supporting miserable #Zionist regime will be a great dishonor to the Europeans. But the #French nation itself should find a remedy for that.
— khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 20, 2013
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