'Western Terror Policies Have Backfired'

Tehran - Attacks by the so called Islamic State group in Europe and elsewhere show that Western policies in the Middle East have backfired, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday.

"Today, Daesh (ISIS) is being pushed out from its birthplace in Iraq and Syria and is moving to other countries -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and even the Philippines and European countries,"Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on the state television.

"This is a fire that (Western powers) themselves ignited and now has backfired on them," he told a gathering in Tehran at a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Islamic Republic, in 1989.

Ayatollah Khamenei used the speech to push back against some of the reformist rhetoric used by President Hassan Rouhani during his successful bid for re-election last month.

Rouhani called his opponents "extremists" and promised more dialogue with the West.

"Do not dismiss revolutionary behaviour as extremism. Being revolutionary is the need of the country today," the leader said.

"Rationality means not coming under the dominance of the power of America and its arrogance again, once one has freed oneself from it."

He said Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia had demonstrated the high price exacted from countries siding with the United States, highlighting the billion-dollar purchases agreed during President Donald Trump's May visit to Riyadh.

"In order to compromise with the new US president, the Saudi government is forced to spend more than half of its financial resources in line with America's objectives and in accordance to America's will," Ayatollah Khamenei said.

He lashed out at the U.S. President Donald Trump and his Saudi allies for their new regional alliance against Tehran, saying it would bear no fruit.

Trump singled out Iran as a key source of instability in the region during his visit to Saudi Arabia in late May, two days after the Iranian election in which pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani won a second term.

During Trump's visit to Riyadh, the U.S. sealed a $110 billion arms deal with the totalitarian Arab government which is Iran's arch-rival in the region.

Iranian leader called the Trump visit a display of brazenness.

"The U.S. president stands alongside the leaders of a tribal and backward system and does the sword dance, but criticises an Iranian election with 40 million votes," the supreme leader said.

"Even with a multi-billion dollar bribe to America, the Saudis cannot achieve their goals in the region," he said in the speech at a ceremony marking the 28th anniversary of the demise of Imam Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

Expressing regret that Muslims in some countries were facing numerous problems even in the holy fasting month of Ramadan, Ayatollah warned that enemies were waging "proxy wars" in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen as well as other parts of the Muslim world.

"The Saudi government is bombarding Yemen day and night and exerting pressure on Yemen. Definitely, this is a mistake," Ayatollah said.

"The Saudi government must know that if it proceeds with such an approach even for the next 10 or 20 years, it will fail to achieve a victory against the Yemeni people. This is a crime against the innocent people and will bear no fruit."

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, backed by the US, launched a military campaign against Yemen in March 2015 to reinstall its former government overthrown by a popular revolt during Arab Spring of 2011. The war has killed over 12,000 civilians since then.

Iranian Leader accused Washington of double standards, saying it turned a blind eye to the "killing of Yemeni people in mosques, streets and their homes," while claiming to champion human rights around the world.

He also condemned what he described as "illogical" presence of Saudi Arabia in Bahrain and said the Bahraini government must engage in negotiations with the people of the country.

It is wrong and inefficient to impose one's own will on a nation, Ayatollah said, adding that this policy would never yield a result "even if it is accompanied by hundreds of billions of dollars in US bribes."

He also criticized the wrongful presence of foreign countries in Syria contrary to the will of its government and nation, stressing, "The Syrian issues must be solved through dialogue."

Iran's Supreme Leader described the United States as an "unreliable" state even for its friends.

"Imam Khomeini had described the US as the "Great Satan and an unreliable state," Ayatollah said, adding that the European countries are now beginning to confess untrustworthiness of Washington.

"This is wisdom. The Americans are unreliable with respect to all issues," he pointed out, which many believe was in reference to the nuclear deal, Iranian government signed with the US in 2105. 

The landmark deal, however, has not led to normalisation of ties between the two countries that Tehran hoped for.

Trump has frequently called the agreement "one of the worst deals ever signed" and said Washington would review it.

European countries, Russia and China have expressed concern that the Trump administration might withdraw from the deal.

"This attests to truth of Imam Khomeini's ideas, that the US was an unreliable state", Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out.

He noted that Imam Khomeini's ideas, including freedom, social and economic justice, and the need to get rid of US domination were among major factors, which attracted the Iranian youth to the revolution.

He stated that as a result of Imam's ideas, young people even in those countries that are subservient to the United States, like Saudi Arabia, cherish the idea that their countries must be freed from US domination.