Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Tehran’s substitute Friday Prayers leader Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Khatami voiced satisfaction over the execution of the former Iraqi dictator, and stressed that expressing regret and mourning for Saddam is synonymous with complicity in his crimes.
“Announcing three days of public mourning means complicity in all the crimes Saddam has committed,” Khatami said while addressing a large and fervent congregation of the public on Tehran University Campus here today.
Addressing those states which have voiced regret over the execution of the former Iraqi dictator, he asked, “Are you an Islamic government and believe in Quran?”
Khatami ridiculed the aforesaid states for expressing regret over the death of Saddam and announcing days of public mourning, and pointed out that the sweetest moments for him have been when the noose was placed on neck of Saddam Hossein, who was given a dose of tranquilizer to soothe his severe trembling at the time of death.
Reminding a few well-known crimes of the former Iraqi dictator, he said that Saddam might have been the only head of state that treated his people with such a vast brutality, and reminded his crimes, including chemical bombardment of Halabja and massacre of innocent Kurds and Shiites.
The Friday Prayers leader continued, “Over several thousand people were killed in the chemical bombardment of Halabja in just a few minutes, while he also killed more than 100,000 Kurds in an attack on a Kurdish inhabited village in 1987.”
Pointing to the massacre of the Shiites in an operation to suppress Intifadha, he stated, “A number of 162 mass graves have been found around cities so far.”
“He was the tyrant who ordered the murder of tens of Iran’s great religious leaders and he was responsible for martyrdom of more than 200,000 Iranian youth, and missiling of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” the cleric reminded.
Referring to Saddam’s service for foreigners, especially for the US, he said that before his execution Saddam had assured Americans that he was the only person who could secure their interests in the region.
“He was the one who said ‘I am proud of Iran’s chemical bombardment’,” Khatami reminded.
He further appreciated Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for pursuing the case of Saddam’s capital punishment, saying that Americans were persistent in keeping Saddam Hossein alive.
“If it had not been for the Iraqi government’s insistence and perseverance, the Americans might not have consented Saddam’s execution. Let’s not forget that the US too politically benefited from the story and did not allow Saddam to acknowledge to his complicity with the White House,” the substitute Friday Prayers leader of Tehran this week said.
