US Threatening World Peace, Says Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei

TEHRAN, Monday - Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday condemned the “bellicose nature” of the United States, accusing Washington of “threatening world peace by dragging the planet into a global war.” “The United States, whose justification for its assault on Afghanistan did not convince anyone, now poses a threat to international peace and risks dragging the world into a global conflict,” Khamenei told Iran’s leaders and diplomats from Islamic countries in a speech marking a Muslim holiday. “Iran is against terrorism, but is also against this bellicose policy... and opposes anyone increasing the chances of war in the region,” the Ayatollah said. “Any assistance to this conflict will be an injustice to the entire human race,” said Khamenei, whose remarks were broadcast live by radio and television. He slammed “those in the West who talk of a holy war pitting Islam against Christianity,” adding that “if the rumours are true, it will be a huge threat as well as a disgrace for the West.” President Mohammad Khatami earlier reiterated his condemnation of the Taliban government and their puritanical interpretation of Islam as well as his criticism of the US-led strikes on Afghanistan. Shiite Iran is hostile to the fundamentalist Sunni Taliban. AFP Ends