Tehran Friday Prayer Leader Defends Intifada Conference Amid Khuzestan's Environmental Challenges

The Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran described the Palestinian issue as "at the forefront of the Islamic Republic's concerns," while the Friday Prayer Leader of Mashhad justified the holding of the conference supporting the "Intifada" despite internal problems, including the crisis of dust storms and floods, as a matter of "comprehensive management" and a "demonstration of the regime's power." According to Fars News Agency, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday Prayer Leader of Mashhad, stated in his sermon on March 6 that "comprehensive management of the system" means that "officials, while trying to support the people and resolve their issues, should not forget the regime's power." He added, "The people of Khuzestan sacrificed for eight years under the shells and missiles of the infidels; should we refrain from demonstrating such power for the sake of water and electricity in Khuzestan? Should we not display this power?" Alamolhoda remarked, "You say that because of the floods, the people of Khuzestan are suffering from lack of water and electricity, should we not show this power in the strength of Islam to the world and announce that Erdogan and the Saudis are American puppets who have shaken hands with Israel and are not Muslims?" The Friday Prayer Leader of Mashhad emphasized that "the conference supporting the Intifada has broken the backs of Israel's supporters worldwide," and the Islamic Republic's goal in holding it was to "inform the West that this is just the beginning of the war with Israel." The "Sixth International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada" was inaugurated on the morning of Tuesday, February 21, with the presence of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, heads of the three branches of government, the Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, commanders of the Revolutionary Guards and the Army, ministers, and members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, once again described Israel as a "cancerous tumor" and "fake," warning without naming any group that any group straying from the "path of resistance" of Palestine has distanced itself from the Islamic Republic. In recent years, the U.S., the United Nations, and the European Union have strongly condemned the harsh verbal attacks of Iranian leaders against the existence of the state of Israel. Iran's support for armed Palestinian groups, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria has faced criticism within Iran. Meanwhile, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a member of the Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization, tweeted after the recent dust storm crisis in Khuzestan that "when preserving Assad became more important than safeguarding Khuzestan, it was not unexpected to see such a dire situation." Tajzadeh's remark likely refers to statements made by Mehdi Taeb, head of the Ammar Strategic Base, who previously stated, "Syria is the thirty-fifth province and a strategic province for us. If the enemy attacks us and wants to take Syria or Khuzestan, the priority is to keep Syria." Some close to the Supreme Leader have described support for Palestinian groups as a fixed principle of Iran's foreign policy. Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the Friday Prayer Leader of Tehran, stated, "We cannot overlook the Palestinian issue; our regional and political national interests are tied to the Palestinian issue." There have been no precise statistics published regarding the financial costs of the Islamic Republic's support for Palestinian groups, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Bashar al-Assad's government, but some analysts estimate these costs to be billions of dollars annually. According to Stefan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, the Iranian government spends at least six billion dollars annually to support Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Nadim Shehadi, an analyst at Chatham House, told Bloomberg that based on his research, Tehran provided between 14 to 15 billion dollars to the Syrian government in 2012 and 2013. In 2009, Hezbollah officials announced that the Islamic Republic had spent nearly one billion dollars since 2006 on rebuilding the ruins caused by the war with Israel. In this context, the Rouhani government's resolution to address the environmental crisis in Khuzestan was issued. The Attorney General of Iran stated: "Do not rely on the government to solve the environmental crisis." The Governor of Khuzestan mentioned that at least three thousand elites migrate from Khuzestan annually. Rouhani's warning in Khuzestan: "The time for problems is not a place for party work and finger-pointing."