Iran’s Judiciary Chief Blasts US Double Standards on Terrorism

Addressing a high-profile meeting of judiciary officials in Tehran on Monday, July 11, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said the US should not expect anybody to believe its claims on counterterrorism when it supports the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), which has assassinated around 17,000 Iranians.

The top official also denounced the French government for hosting a recent meeting of the notorious group in Paris.

The MKO – listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international community – fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq and was given a camp by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. They fought on the side of Saddam during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-88). The group has killed thousands of Iranian civilians and officials after the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Elsewhere in his comments, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani took a swipe at the US for trying to link the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – a nuclear deal between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) – to irrelevant subjects, such as Iran’s missile capabilities.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s predictions are coming true, the Judiciary Chief added, making a reference to the Leader’s prior warnings that Iran’s nuclear program was not indeed the crux of the matter for the US and that Americans would make up new excuses after the nuclear agreement, like raising human rights allegations against Iran, trying to restrict the country’s missile capabilities, opposing the Guardian Council and eventually seeking to define the posts in the Islamic Republic.

Last month, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the US unreliable nature and its failure to honour commitments under the JCPOA, saying the US always pursues its vicious objectives behind smiles and words.

Washington will never back down if Iran ever agrees to negotiate on any other subject, such as human rights, missile program, terrorism, Lebanon or Palestine, the Leader said at the time.

While the JCPOA came into force in January, the US has failed to fully meet its commitments to the accord, and has even taken measures that are perceived to run counter to the spirit of the deal, like confiscating the Central Bank of Iran’s assets in an American bank.