Don’t Collaborate With Occupiers: Khamenei To Iraqi Opposition

TEHRAN, April 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iran may be happy to see its arch-enemy Saddam Hussein ousted, but plans to replace the toppled leader with a U.S. military ruler constitutes an aggression against Islam, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared Friday, April 11.

And in comments likely to further anger Washington, the all-powerful leader called on Iraqi opposition groups not to commit an "historic disgrace" by collaborating with U.S.-led coalition forces in the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

"Our position is the same as that of the Iraqi nation. The Iraqi nation is happy about Saddam's departure and we are happy about Saddam's departure," Khamenei said in a Friday prayer sermon in Tehran.

But he added: "Happiness about Saddam's departure has nothing to do with the arrival of the occupier," and slammed U.S. plans to install a military government in Baghdad.

Escaping From Saddam dictatorship To The bigger Dictatorship Of U.S.

"We consider this to be an aggression against Islam," he said. "The Iraqi people have not escaped from the dictatorship of Saddam only to come under the yoke of the bigger dictatorship of an American."

The sermon was a reflection of mixed feelings in Iran, which suffered Iraqi invasion and chemical weapons attacks in the 1980s but continues to remain at odds with Washington.

"To collaborate with the foreign forces is an historic disgrace, and I advise you not to cooperate with these foreign forces," the all-powerful leader said in comments directed to "Iraqi political leaders".

He also called on the Iraqi opposition to prevent "any situation of chaos or acts of vengeance that would give foreign forces a pretext to stay in Iraq."

He said that U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister had lied by stating they had attacked to country to liberate the Iraqi people.

"They are looking after their own interests," Khamenei said, calling on U.S. and British troops to immediately leave Iraq.

"You have toppled Saddam, so if you respect democracy and liberty you should leave," he said. "Out of 1,000 Iraqis, 900 say 'Death to Saddam, Death to Bush'."

But despite calling for the undermining of the U.S.-British presence next door, Khamenei asserted the Islamic republic was neutral.

"I wish to state to Iranian that we have not helped any of the two parties, and the foreigners who spy with their satellites know this very well."

Storming Iraq’s Embassy

Also Friday, a group of around 50 protestors supporting an Iran-based Iraqi Shiite opposition group stormed Iraq's embassy in Tehran, before being forced out and taken away by riot police.

The demonstrators, brandishing portraits of Supreme Assembly for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI) leader Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Hakim, forced open the gate of the embassy despite attempts by police to hold them back.

The group then entered the embassy building -- empty of any Iraqi diplomatic staff -- smashing furniture and tearing up pictures of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein while shouting: "No to Saddam, no to foreign domination."

They collected documents inside the embassy and placed them in a room which was then locked. A small number of SAIRI supporters were seen trying to take away some documents, but were blocked by police.

After around 20 minutes of ransacking, riot police managed to clear the group from the two-floor embassy building and began searching the demonstrators in the garden of the compound for any stolen documents.

With the situation under control, police brought in two buses and drove away the protestors. Officials did not say whether the group had been formally arrested or would be later released after their detention.

Tight security was also seen around the British embassy, recently the scene of a series of attacks by anti-war protestors.