Raising Tensions, Iranians Again Link Saudis to Terror Attacks in Tehran
Speaking at a forum in Oslo on Tuesday, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, announced
that Iran had "obtained intelligence showing that Saudi Arabia is actively propping up terrorist groups along Iranian eastern and western borders," according to a report on Iran’s Press TV channel.
By THOMAS ERDBRINKJUNE 13, 2017
TEHRAN — Turning up the heat in an already tense standoff, several Iranian officials on Tuesday renewed accusations against Saudi Arabia, suggesting
that the Persian Gulf kingdom was behind last week’s twin terror attacks in Tehran.
Even before the terrorist attacks, tensions were high between Iran
and Saudi Arabia after the May visit of President Trump to the Persian Gulf kingdom.
Iran, a predominately Shia nation, has long accused Saudi Arabia, a Sunni nation,
and the United States of sponsoring and even training some of these groups.
The country’s most influential military figure, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ali Jafari, the commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, told the semiofficial Fars news agency
that Iran had "precise information" that Saudi Arabia "has asked terrorists to carry out operations in Iran." He offered no further details.
Iran was singled out by both Mr. Trump and King Salman of Saudi Arabia as a country
that needed to be isolated for its suspected sponsoring of terrorists.