Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei went on a Twitter tirade against Israel this weekend, accusing it of poisoning Yasser Arafat and killing Palestinian children, concluding the only “cure” is to annihilate the Jewish State.
He characterized Israel as "barbaric, wolflike and infanticidal."
This barbaric, wolflike & infanticidal regime of #Israel which spares no crime has no cure but to be annihilated. 7/23/14
#HandsOffAlAqsa
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 8, 2014
The string of anti-Israel tweets was posted just two days after the Wall Street Journal reported that President Barack Obama had written a letter to Khamenei last month about their shared interest in combatting the Islamic State group. It was at least the fourth letter Obama sent Iran’s supreme leader since taking office in 2009, according to the Journal.
Khamenei’s tweets focused on the current tension surrounding Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, known as the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims, which has been the location of violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police.
He called for arming Palestinians in the West Bank and hashtagged his tweets “HandsOffAlAqsa,” referring to the mosque on the Temple Mount.
The only means to confront a barbaric regime like #Israel is arming West Bank http://t.co/uHnFHT6rK6
#HandsOffAlAqsa pic.twitter.com/P9zmDTcSc6
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 8, 2014
The Temple Mount is the third holiest site in Islam and the holiest site for the Jewish faith.
Khamenei last year on Twitter described Israel as the “sinister, unclean rabid dog of the region.”
Iran experts believe the Twitter feed is legitimate and is run by Khamenei’s office.
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