Pompeo Slams Khamenei’s Threat Against Israel Ahead of Tishah B’Av

YERUSHALAYIM
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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday slammed Iran’s “faux concern” for the Palestinians after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Muslims to oppose the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, accusing him of threatening violence against Israel before the fast day of Tishah B’Av.

Khamenei on Saturday condemned a U.S. blueprint to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and called on haj pilgrims to oppose it, Iranian state media reported.

“The trick called ‘Deal of the Century’, which is being pushed by an oppressive America and its traitorous companions, is a crime against human society, and not just the Palestinian people,” state media quoted Khamenei as saying in a message to Muslim pilgrims performing the annual haj in Saudi Arabia.

“We call upon everyone to take an active part in defeating this deceit by the enemy,” Khamenei said.

The message was read at a rally held by Iranian pilgrims, state media reported.

Saudi officials have asked Muslims to focus on rituals of worship and warned against politicizing the rite amid regional wars and heightened tension between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite Muslim Iran.

The White House has yet to unveil President Donald Trump’s full Middle East peace plan that aims to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and is led by Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Pompeo accused Khamenei and the Iranian government of destabilizing the region by backing terrorist groups with millions of dollars “to kill more Jews.”

“Khamenei’s faux concern for the Palestinian people runs so deep that under his reign of terror he provided less than $20,000 in aid since 2008, while sending millions to Hamas & other terrorists,” Pompeo tweeted. “In contrast, US provided $6.3 billion in support to Palestinians since 1994.”

“It’s sick that on the eve of Tisha B’Av — a solemn day for the Jewish people — Khamenei calls for violence against the Jewish state,” he said.

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