Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei Tweets: U.S. Created the Islamic State

Receiving a secret planeload of cash from President Barack Obama does not seem to have improved the mood of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His English-language Twitter account on Wednesday accused the United States of creating and supporting the Islamic State, as part of a scheme to “defame true Islam” and promote the Sunni Wahabbi creed.

Khamenei tweeted:

US aim of making & backing DAESH is to sow discord in Islamic Ummah, defame true Islam & promote Wahabbi Islam which is far from true Islam.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) August 3, 2016

Foreign Desk News notes this is not a new accusation from the Ayatollah:

Last December, Khamenei accused U.S. officials of sowing discord among Muslims by “creating terrorist groups like Daesh (the Arabic word for the ISIL) and other groups that have been created through the funding of the US affiliates and their political aids,” according to Iran’s state-run media outlet, Fars News.

Following prostate surgery in late 2014, he suggested America, Zionism and “the wicked government of Britain” created Al Qaeda and Da’esh (ISIS) as [a] way to contain Iran, but that instead these groups “have turned on them.”

We might cut Khamenei a little slack for being grouchy after his prostate surgery, but there seems to be precious little evidence that Obama’s great opening to Iran is yielding any diplomatic dividends.

The Ayatollah is not only the ultimate ruler of Iran – no matter how many “moderates vs. hardliners” theatrical performances the Obama administration falls for – but he is a religious leader with considerable cachet among Shiite Muslims. Obama’s nuclear deal has substantially increased his prestige, in addition to giving Tehran a great deal of money to spend on its hobbies, which include destabilizing other countries and sponsoring terrorist attacks that kill Americans.

Speaking of those famous Iranian moderates, on the same December weekend when the Ayatollah was claiming that “Shiite or Sunni does not make any difference for the Americans, they are against any Muslim who wants to live in accordance with Islamic rules,” moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared:

There is neither a Shiite nor a Sunni crescent. We have an Islamic moon. We, Muslims, are in a world where we must be united. Does the destruction of Syria help strengthen Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or other countries? Is anyone pleased by Syria’s destruction, apart from Israel?

Earlier this week, Ayatollah Khamenei suggested the United States was behind the coup in Turkey.

“Americans are against Islam and Islamic approach, so it’s possible they want to drive a coup in Turkey which has Islamic approaches. In recent events in Turkey, strong accusations are raised against Americans being behind [the] coup. If proved, it’s a huge scandal for the U.S.,” he said.