Iran Leader Says Ukraine Is 'Victim' of US Policy

Tehran - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has blamed the United States for the current Ukraine crisis, and demanded an end to the war, saying the policies of the Western powers were the "root cause" for instability and chaos across the world. 

Iran leader said Ukraine fell victim to the US's policies and the crises created by Washington.

"The US disrupted the stability of the country by interfering in its affairs and organizing rallies and creating a color coup," he said. "We oppose the killing of people and the destruction of the infrastructure of nations."

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" aimed at "demilitarization" of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in eastern Ukraine, collectively known as Donbas.

The two regions broke away from Ukraine in 2014 after refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.

Announcing the operation, Putin said the mission was aimed at "defending people who for eight years are suffering persecution and genocide by the Kiev regime."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah called the US a perfect example and manifestation of modern ignorance, saying it feeds off the crises it creates all around the world.

"The American regime is a perfect example of modern ignorance. This regime is a crisis-producing and crisis-consuming regime, and it feeds off creating crises in the world," Ayatollah Khamenei maintained.

As an example, the Iranian leader pointed to the US formation of the Daesh terror group, denouncing Washington for plundering oil resources in eastern Syria, stealing Afghanistan's assets, and supporting Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

Calling the US as a mafia-ruled country, saying the US mafia installs individuals or overthrows them in other countries.

"America is basically a mafia regime - political mafia, economic mafia, arms mafia and all kinds of mafias that run and rule the policies of that country and control the country," the Iran leader said.

Khamenei pointed to what he called West's double standards in dealing with the crisis in Ukraine, stating that Western countries support the killing of Yemeni people in the Saudi war, but they call for an end to the Ukraine crisis.

According to Ayatollah Khamenei, there are lessons to be drawn with regard to the Ukraine crisis, first of which is the fact that "Western powers cannot be trusted" and their support for their puppet regimes is only "a mirage".

"All governments need to know this," the Iran leader warned.

Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani have acknowledged that the US simply abandoned them amid their domestic crises, he said.

Khamenei said people are the most important backers for governments and that if the Ukrainian people had fully supported their government, they would not be where they are today.

Khamenei said that the situation in Ukraine is reminiscent of the situation in Iraq when the US invaded the Arab country.