(Thumbnail image: Arab News)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s assertion Iran is becoming a dictatorship is prompting strong international response.
Clinton: "We see the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament is being supplanted and Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship." (Al Jazeera English)
"As one of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China's support is critical to passing any sanctions against Tehran. But it's been reluctant to do so, because it's Iran that supplies China with most of its energy. And that's precisely why the U.S. is here, to get energy-rich Qatar and Saudi Arabia to step forward as alternative energy suppliers."
Iran's foreign minister threw Mrs. Clinton’s comments right back--suggesting the United States doesn’t fully understand the Middle East.
Iranian experts and news outlets also refuted Mrs. Clinton's comments. A political analyst tells Al Jazeera English,
"’If we give Hillary Clinton some more time she will be blaming Iran for global warming as well.’"
And in Iran's IRIB,
"The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once again baselessly accused Iran of trying to make atomic weapon [sic], while claiming that Iran's peaceful nuclear plan poses a threat against the Arab countries in the region."
(IRIB)
But on FOX News, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton says the secretary’s concerns are grounded in fact.
"It's been clear that power in Iran has been flowing away from the Ayatollahs, toward the Revolutionary Guard for some time. And indeed, President Ahmadinejad is an alumnus of the Revolutionary Guard, so, in effect, he helps epitomize the shift. I think what Secretary Clinton is trying to do is emphasize the role of the Revolutionary Guards because that's where the Obama administration wants to target its sanctions, but in fact, the shift in power, I think is going to make it harder to do that and I think it makes it harder on the domestic opposition in Iran and I think it makes it clearer than ever that the Revolutionary Guards who control the nuclear weapons program are not going to be negotiated out of that program.”
Is rhetoric against Iran legitimate or baseless? And is the United States dealing with a harmless rival or a dangerous dictatorship?
Writer: Elizabeth Eberlin
Producer: Newsy Staff
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