US Diplomats Walk Out of Tunisia Ceremony after Larijani Slams Washington, Tel Aviv

Local Editor

The speaker of Iran's parliament denounced "Israel" and the United States during a ceremony in honor of Tunisia's new constitution on Friday, causing the American delegation to walk out of the celebrations.

Addressing the ceremony at the National Assembly in Tunis, Speaker Ali Larijani referred to "Israel" as a "cancer" in the region. He accused the Zionist entity and the United States of trying to "sterilize" the Arab Spring revolutions.

Larijani further highlighted that ""Israel" and the United States had tried to render these Arab revolutions sterile, and to make them deviate from their course so that Israel can benefit."

The American embassy in Tunis said following the incident, "What was intended to be a ceremony honoring Tunisia's achievements was used by the Iranian representative as a platform to denounce the United States."

"The US representatives present at the NCA departed the ceremony due to the false accusations and inappropriate comments made by the Iranian representative present regarding the United States," added the statement.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Maghreb Affairs and Egypt, William Roebuck, was Washington's top representative at the ceremony, which was also attended by African and Arab leaders, as well as French President Francois Hollande.

Earlier this week, during a meeting in Tehran with the leader of the Islamic Jihad group, the Iranian speaker said that armed warfare against the "Zionist regime is the only way to free Palestine, and that Iran's policy has always been the defense of the Muslim peoples, and particularly the rights of the Palestinian people under occupation."

Larijani further stressed that the "occupation is trying to weaken the Islamic opposition and make it forget the reasons to free Palestine," and called for unity and solidarity against the "pompous forces of the West and "Israel" who are trying to capitalize on differences of opinion in the Muslim world."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team