Iraq conflict not a war between Shias and Sunnis: Supreme Leader

TEHRAN,June 23(MNA) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that Iran is strongly opposed to U.S. intervention in Iraq in response to the advance by extremist terrorists in the north and west of the country. “We are strongly opposed to interference by the Americans and others in Iraq’s internal affairs, and we do not approve of it because we believe the Iraqi government and people and the religious authorities of the country are able to end the sedition,” the Leader said during a meeting with a number of Judiciary officials in Tehran on Sunday. He also stated that what is happening in Iraq is not a war between Shias and Sunnis, but actually part of a plot by the hegemonistic powers, which are using remnants of the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as the driving force and prejudiced takfiri terrorists as the foot soldiers to destabilize Iraq and threaten the territorial integrity of the country. A takfiri is a Muslim who accuses another Muslim of being an unbeliever. Most takfiri groups believe that only their group’s interpretation of Islam -- or sometimes also similar groups’ interpretation -- is correct, and all other Muslims are unbelievers. “The main elements behind the sedition in Iraq are as hostile toward the faithful Sunnis who believe in Iraq’s independence as they are hostile toward Shias,” he said, adding, “The main dispute in Iraq is between those people who want Iraq to join the U.S. camp and those who are seeking Iraq’s independence.” Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei said that the United States is not pleased with the current political trend in Iraq, which led to the election of politicians who are trusted by the people, and is thus seeking to gain dominance over Iraq and help the people who are at its beck and call come to power. Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have captured several areas in northern and western Iraq over the past two weeks, and are threatening to dismember Iraq and unleash all-out sectarian warfare with no regard for national borders. The ISIL militants have vowed to continue their military offensive until they reach Baghdad, but Iraqi forces and around 1.5 million volunteers have succeeded in halting the terrorists’ advance and pushing the militants back in some areas.