Irans influential Assembly of Experts, concluding a two-day meeting on Wednesday, put outa general statementwith a focus on the Syrian crisis:
We call on scholars of the Muslim world, the scientific and academic centers and the elites to deal with the Takfiri Salafi current, which is heresy in religion and is not in conformity with Quran and Islamand to condemn this current and any form of fratricide.
The insult takfiri (Muslim heretic) has been long used by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to chide his opponents, but it has been adopted by Iranian outlets since the spring to tarnish the Syrian insurgency.
The Assembly of Experts also targeted the foreign supporters of that insurgency in its declaration:
We reiterate that the Islamic Republic of Iran has never wanted to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
We warn the US, Israel, and European governments not to be the starters of a new disaster in the Middle East and notstain their hands with the blood of innocents and if they are [truly] the advocates of freedom and democracy, let the people of countries freely determine their own fate.
Such rhetoric is far from unexpected. Far more intriguing this morning is an indication of unhappiness by the Revolutionary Guards, through its outlet Fars News, with China.
It is surprising that China is somewhat quiet because at the end of the day the United States objective is to drive China out of West Asia and North Africa along with Russia and Iran. The US has already succeeded in expelling China from two oil rich countries, meaning Libya and South Sudan.
I think maybe the Chinese do not fully recognize the implications of the US gaining full control of West Asia and North Africa.
Marandi continued:
The US could threaten the Chinese economy wherever China and American interests diverge; not only will the US be able to weaken the Chinese economy but western oil and gas companies will benefit from Chinese energy consumption.
For China standing against the US aggression in Syria is of utmost importance..I dont think its an exaggeration to say that the US would like to humiliate China along with Russia by presenting them as impotent in the face of American power.
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