Head of the Iranian judiciary Ebrahim Raisi slammed Wednesday President Hassan Rouhani for shaking hands with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron following a European statement holding Iran responsible for Aramco attacks.
Raisi’s comments were made after Iranian websites circulated photos of the handshake following two meetings between Rouhani and Macron in the UN corridors to mediate between Tehran and Washington.
Raisi accused his former rival in the presidential elections of resorting to foreigners to solve Iran’s problems before denouncing Rouhani’s economic management.
“If reforming the tax system and government subsidies don’t solve all the country’s problems, at least it would lessen concerns on budget shortage,” he said.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami, for his part, implicitly refused to negotiate Iran’s regional role.
“Our power is extending from the east of the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and it is pursuing the enemy at any point,” Salami stressed.
He said his country is no longer afraid of confrontation with major powers.
“We have reached the limits of non-fear of major powers,” he said, adding that “our strength is unknown and unexpected by enemies.”
“We don’t want to create chaos, but we will face the anarchists.”
Salami tried to distance his forces from being responsible of Aramco attacks, saying “if we take a step, we will announce it with courage. Didn't we declare it when we dropped the Drone?”
“Our power has grown so much that when Houthis carry out any act, the enemies think it is Iran,” noting that the Houthi militias is a “branch of the power of revolution.”
Britain, Germany and France backed the US and blamed Iran on Monday for an attack on Saudi oil facilities, urging Tehran to agree to new talks with world powers on its nuclear and missile programs and regional security issues.
Salami said that the European statement is “intense” and represents an attempt to “exploit the UN to wage a psychological warfare against us.”
He warned the “enemies” of “taking an action that could lead to discharging our accumulated power” and urged them to be very accurate in their decisions, according to the government agency, ISNA.
