Subhi al-Tufayli, one of the original founders of Hezbollah, and a prominent Lebanese Shia cleric said in an interview: “I was in Iran when Armenia occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region during the 90s. The Iranian press and politicians supported the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia. I spoke to the Iranian Foreign Minister to find out why a country that claims to be the protector of Muslims and the oppressed, is supporting Christian Armenians against Shia Muslims in Azerbaijan.
Subhi al-Tufayli recalled the then Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati saying: “Armenia is creating a barrier between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and other Turkic republics that have seceded from the Soviet Union; we support Armenia and will strengthen it to block the way for Turkey.”
Subhi al-Tufayli emphasized that Azerbaijan at the time had just gained independence and there was no Israeli presence in the country as a cause for Iran to be against the Shia Muslim country.
al-Tufayli added that: “Iran signed an agreement with Israel in 1996 to never directly harm any Israeli troops in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and has remained faithful to this agreement. Iran’s claims of Zionists’ presence in Azerbaijan being the cause of tensions between the two countries today is nothing but a lie. Iran’s policies are purely destructive with zero honesty.”
Referring to Iran’s presence in Lebanon and Syria, he said: “Iran has a project in Lebanon and Hezbollah is just a pawn to execute those plans. No one in Hezbollah has the power to make decisions, from Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah to its smallest member; everyone receives orders from Iran’s foreign ministry.”
In regards to Iran’s presence in Syria and Iraq al-Tufayli said: “When Iran infiltrates a country, its best interest is for the government to not have any decision-making powers. If the government becomes stronger, Iran’s influence naturally decreases. For this reason, destruction and corruption in countries where Iran has influence are in its best interest.” He continued: “If we consider the political developments in Lebanon since 2005, we realize that Iran’s policy is to destroy, and cooperate with the corrupt.”
Earlier and only a day before al-Tufayli’s interview, the Armenian prime minister had also emphasized that: “Without Iranian military and logistical support, the Armenian army would have failed in the early 1990s.”
Source: TRT World
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