The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday blamed Saudi Arabia for Saturday’s “cowardly, illegitimate and illegal” allied missile strikes against Syria, condemning Riyadh’s policies which are “leading the world towards chaos and anarchy,” Fars News reported.
“Saudi Arabia has played an important role in the western coalitions’ attack against Syria,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi, claiming that “since [crown prince] bin Salman started ruling Saudi Arabia, the country has tried to persuade certain powers and states to move on its desired path through its crude sales.”
Qassemi also threatened that “Israel will receive a blow for what it did at the T4 base.” In the week before the allied attack on Syria, Israel had attacked the Iranian-controlled air base in Syria, killing 11.
The Iranian news agency also quoted the senior official as saying, “I Suggest to the Israelis to refrain from foolish steps if they want to continue their treacherous existence,” and, “Iran is capable of destroying Israel.”
Which sounds like the kind of things you’d say to prevent chaos and anarchy.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed on Friday that Israel had committed a historic mistake by striking the T4 base: “You made a historic mistake and a great folly which brings you into direct confrontation with Iran,” Nasrallah said in a taped televised speech.
“This is the first time in 7 years that the Israelis have deliberately killed Iranian revolutionary guards,” he said. “Attacking the T4 base is a pivotal incident in the history of the region that can’t be ignored.”
“Iran is not a weak or a cowardly state, and you know that well,” Nasrallah said. “The Israeli have made a bad calculation. Now you will have to face the Islamic Republic of Iran,” which he suggested “would be different from any previous time.”
The Iranian foreign ministry’s Qassemi also blasted the Arab League over its statement of condemnation of Iran, and urged it to “take steps towards restoration of stability in the region.”
The summit of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for an international probe into the “criminal” use of chemical weapons in Syria and condemned Iran’s interference in the affairs of Arab countries.
“We demand an independent international investigation to guarantee the application of international law against anyone proven to have used chemical weapons,” the Arab League said in a statement issued after the summit. The league also called for more international sanctions on Iran, urging the Islamic Republic it to withdraw its proxy militias from Syria and Yemen.