Larijani's Jab at Turkey: The Era of Imperialism is Over

Two weeks after the Turkish President criticized the regional policies of the Islamic Republic, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, without naming names, accused some regional countries of trying to "revive their past empires" and stated that "the era of imperialism is over" and is a "delusional thought." According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali Larijani emphasized on Wednesday evening, December 23, that "such policies" incur significant costs for the region. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament described the current regional situation as "very special and exceptional" and stated that "perhaps there has never been a time when Iran's confrontation in these areas was so multifaceted." Previously, some members of Parliament and Iranian media had accused Turkish officials of seeking to revive the Ottoman Empire. Iran and Turkey have serious disagreements regarding the Syrian conflict, with the Islamic Republic supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has called for his resignation. Meanwhile, some Iranian officials, including Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, have claimed that the Islamic Republic possesses "documents and videos of the route of oil shipments that ISIS sells to Turkey." In response to such reports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, about Iranian media's accusations against his family regarding oil trade with ISIS. These statements prompted a reaction from the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, who invited Mr. Erdoğan to "observe decorum." On Wednesday, December 9, Erdoğan also stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that Iran's and Iraq's regional policies have fueled sectarianism in Syria. In another part of his remarks on Wednesday, Larijani accused Western countries and "some regional countries" of supporting "terrorist movements" in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. He stated on Thursday that Western countries and "some regional countries" exhibit "double standards" by claiming to have formed a coalition against terrorism while secretly assisting them. Iranian officials have repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia and the United States of aiding ISIS while forming a coalition against the group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has repeatedly accused Western countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., of creating ISIS and Al-Qaeda "to confront the Islamic Republic and Islamic awakening." Meanwhile, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, Deputy Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, stated on Thursday that the main goal of forming "takfiri" groups is to destroy the "resistance axis" and the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials refer to some Islamist groups, especially ISIS, as "takfiri movements" and to Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Palestinian groups opposed to Middle East peace, as well as the Syrian government, as the "resistance front" against Israel.