Sadegh Larijani: The Murder of Khashoggi Revealed the Terrorism-Supporting Nature of Saudi Arabia

After two weeks of silence from Iranian officials regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi critic whose death has turned into an international scandal, the head of Iran's judiciary has stated that his 'murder' demonstrates the 'terrorism-supporting nature of Saudi Arabia.' Sadegh Amoli Larijani referred to Khashoggi's killing as a 'horrific murder' and claimed that 'initially, Saudi Arabia, with the help of the West, attempted to cover up this crime, and recently, when forced to confess, they claimed that a number of rogue individuals committed this crime.' The head of the judiciary stated that this Saudi claim was made to 'cleanse their corrupt regime.' He accused Western countries of having 'double standards' regarding human rights, adding that 'many Western countries have shown sensitivity regarding the murder of this journalist and appear to be pursuing the issue, but in contrast, they remain silent about crimes such as those occurring in Yemen, and no voice is heard from them.' Larijani's reference is to the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia supporting the government of Mansour Hadi Abdrabbuh, the president of Yemen, against the Iranian-backed Houthis, which has been ongoing for over three years and has resulted in thousands of deaths. While Iranian media had covered the news related to Khashoggi's murder in recent days, Iranian officials had not commented despite severe tensions between Tehran and Riyadh on this issue. Even Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, did not respond to reporters' questions on the matter. The Islamic Republic is currently embroiled in the issue of the arrest of its diplomat accused of involvement in a plot to attack a meeting of the Mujahideen-e Khalq organization in Paris and has previously been accused of the murder of dozens of government critics abroad and bombings. Tehran officials have repeatedly attributed the murders of their opponents both inside and outside the country to 'rogue elements,' which were involved in serial killings in the late 1990s from within the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. On the other hand, while the head of the judiciary considers Saudi actions 'terroristic,' the Islamic Republic itself faces similar accusations on the international stage, with the United States having labeled the Tehran government as the world's largest supporter of terrorism for years. Saudi Arabia, along with Israel, is considered a major regional opponent of Iran, and since Mohammad bin Salman was appointed as Saudi crown prince two years ago, the confrontation between the two countries has intensified. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate, which occurred after he disappeared on October 1, has sparked a wave of international condemnation and outrage, with some influential Republican senators in the U.S. pointing fingers at Mohammad bin Salman. Meanwhile, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, denied these accusations in an interview with Fox News, stating that 'the individuals involved in this operation were not close to the crown prince' and 'this was a rogue operation.' This narrative has faced skepticism from many international politicians and media outlets.