Khamenei Blames US for Ukraine Situation Without Naming Russia
Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, in his first official statement about Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, said: “Ukraine is a victim of American policies.”
On Tuesday morning, the 10th of Esfand, speaking to the people through television networks, in a speech on the occasion of Eid al-Mab’ath whose duration was unusually brief, he described the US government as “a mafia regime” and said America “feeds off” creating crises in various countries.
The leader of the Islamic Republic, who made no reference to Russia in his speech, while pointing out that Iran’s government wants the war to stop, accused the US government of interfering in Ukraine and conducting “velvet” moves and “color coups” in the country, thus naturally bringing the situation to this point.
Ali Khamenei, in another part of his remarks and without referring to the Ukrainian people’s resistance against the Russian invasion, claimed that “if the people in Ukraine had taken to the field, the situation of Ukraine’s government and people would not have been like this.”
Before the leader of the Islamic Republic, some high-ranking Iranian officials in recent days had defended Russia’s move to attack Ukraine, describing it as a counteraction to “Western unilateralism” and NATO expansion.
In this regard, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a tweet pointed out that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an example of wars that “are carried out with the aim of standing against Western strategy” and called the West “directly responsible for the war.”
The Javan newspaper, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, yesterday, criticizing those who have portrayed the Iranian government as a supporter of Russia during the Ukraine war, criticized the support that social media users have recently shown for the President of Ukraine.
The leader of the Islamic Republic’s claim about Volodymyr Zelensky that he does not have the support of the Ukrainian people comes at a time when the Ukrainian president’s performance, who in recent days has refused pressures and proposals to leave Kyiv, has been widely welcomed on Persian-language social networks, and many users on Twitter have praised his resistance.
Beyond Iranian users, Afghan users have also compared Mr. Zelensky’s performance with Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan, and his escape from the country after the Taliban attack, and have called the Ukrainian president’s resistance and his staying in the capital an important factor in strengthening the spirit of resistance among the Ukrainian people against the Russian military invasion.
Based on official polls, support for Ukraine’s people toward the young president of the country has reached above 90 percent in the week since the invasion began.
Source: Radio Farda
